The Matrix Ace
by Yar Kramer
Summary: 150 years after the movies, the war has begun again, and a young man named Ace is now in the thick of it. And the Machines aren't the only threat ... (Completed)
1. Prologue

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

Prologue 

The green codes were a bizarre mixture of numbers, Japanese kana, Greek symbols, and maybe the odd letter here and there. And they were everywhere. They even made up the tumblers that were part of a lock on the doorknob of a door ... 

... that was suddenly knocked down as Fate charged through it. She didn't stop, didn't slow down, as she raced up the stairs as fast as her focus would speed her, pursued by bullets. 

Agent Black charged after her, firing his Desert Eagle handgun. He was a ways behind her, but by the time Fate reached the roof, Agent Black had caught up. 

"It is inevitable, Miss Trent," said Agent Black. 

"I don't take no for an answer," said Fate, pulling out her .44 handgun and firing. 

In a blur of motion that stretched the limits of the code's ability to depict visual images, Agent Black simply dodged. "That was extremely pointless, Miss Trent," he said, and raised his Desert Eagle to fire. 

There was a click. 

Fate smirked. "Huh. Looks like you _do_ run out," she said, and charged forward, firing again. While Agent Black was dodging the bullet, she focused her strength ... 

_This is not real, this is not real, this is not real ..._

... and punched him in the stomach. 

Agent Black didn't flinch as he was knocked back, but simply rose to his feet and attempted to do a karate chop that would knock her off the building. She blocked it with her hands, but was thrown in the opposite direction Agent Black was going for. 

Focusing all her energy, she leapt into the air, feeling the world spin around her, and kicked with all her strength. 

Agent Black found himself above the _middle_ of the street. There was _no way_ he could dodge the bullet that Fate then fired at his face. 

Fate smirked as the Agent continued to plummet, then jumped as a bullet whizzed past her head. She gave a single glance to confirm that it was another Agent, and leapt across the distance between that building and the next one. 

Agent White put a hand to his earpiece. Agent Black was still operational ... and he found the perfect person to jump to. 

* * * * *

Michael Klaymoore was putting on his tie when he heard the sound of glass breaking, as if someone had jumped in through a window. 

Mike was about ninteen, tall, with a shock of blond hair and sharp facial features. He spent a considerable amount of his free time on the Internet, with the screen name "Ace." 

He blinked at the sound, which seemed patently impossible. It _sounded_ like it was coming from the side that faced the street. 

Ten seconds later, a woman in dark glasses and a dark blue leather trench coat bared into his apartment and ran through it on her way someplace else. Mike stared in disbelief as she went by ... 

... and he blacked out. There was a faint hint of green characters scrolling downwards, as well as a strange noise ... 

* * * * *

Fate practically jumped down the stairwell, stopping only on the second floor to break her fall as she landed on the first floor. Agent Black landed half a second later, and by then she was out of the building. 

She pulled out her cell phone, still running. "Pylon, where's the exit?" 

"_Hotel across the street from you, ninth floor, pay phone,_" said the voice on the phone. "_Oh shit, the Agent's right behind you!"_

Completely disregarding several traffic laws, Fate ran across the street, with Agent Black in hot pursuit. She ran inside without looking back. 

Agent Black looked up at the hotel. And then he _blurred_. 

* * * * *

Mike found himself at the bus stop in front of the hotel across the street, with _no_ recollecion of how he'd gotten there. There was the sound of distant gunfire. _That ... was ... WIERD,_ he thought. Oh, well ... might as well head off to work. 

* * * * *

Fate ran into the building as fast as she could. She was pretty sure the Agent was right behind her, when she thought she heard him "bodyjump" somewhere else. Oh, great, he could be _anywhere_ now. 

"Quickest way to the ninth floor?" she said into her phone. 

"_I'd suggest the elevator, but they'd probably cut it,"_ said Pylon's voice. "_Head up the stairs to your right. I think that agent just got in your way, though ..._" 

"Damn," muttered Fate as she hung up, and she started running up the enormous stairwell. 

When she was at the sixth floor, the door opened, and Agent Roberts stepped out. "You aren't going anywhere, Miss Trent ..." 

She pulled out her handgun and shot at the Agent. This only served to cause him to not chase her, as he dodged the bullets with ease. 

"That was completely pointles," said Agent Roberts. "You know as well as I do that ..." 

Fate focused her energy, and jumped at the wall, then kicked away from it, swinging her other leg into a kick that knocked Agent Roberts off the stairwell. He plummeted seven stories, and Fate resumed her mad dash up the stairs. 

She barged into the ninth floor and ran towards the pay phone, which was ringing. Agent White and Agent Black stepped out of a nearby side door as she grabbed the reciever, picked it up, put it to the side of her head ... 

The Agents shot the phone out a split second too late. There was a pause as they stared down the now-empty hallway. 

Agent Roberts walked up to them. "They interfere with _everything_," he intoned dispassionately. 

"We were unable to find out the name of their next target," said Agent White. 

"We must continue to acquire information," said Agent Black. 

Then they looked down and saw the small bomb there. 

"Uh-oh," said Agent Roberts. 

Agent Roberts and Agent Black managed to escape the blast, but Agent White found he had to bodyjump somewhere else. 


	2. Chapter 1: First Contact

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 1   
FIRST CONTACT 

"Is Davidson still mad at you for coming in late last week?" said Sanders, one of Mike's co-workers, from over the wall of Mike's cubicle. Davidson was their "pointy-haired boss," as Sanders put it. 

"Oh, he's _always_ grouchy," said Mike. 

Sanders chuckled. "You doing all right?" 

Mike shrugged. "I dunno, I guess I've been kinda tired and disoriented lately ..." 

Sanders' eyes widened in an expression of mock surprise. "What a coincidence! You just described my _entire_ carreer!" 

This got a laugh from Mike, who sat back down to log into his computer. 

He was _not_ expecting to see, instead of his usual desktop wallpaper, a black box with green words on it. 

**THE MATRIX HAS YOU, ACE.   
FOLLOW THE YELLOW BRICK ROAD.**

He stared at this for several seconds. 

"Klaymoore, couldja deal with a quick website problem?" said Davidson, who suddenly arrived in the cubicle. "Simpson put up the wrong photo image in the staff page for Rhodes. Looked like something from some old movie. Wouldja fix it before you get to work on that database?" 

"Huh?" said Mike. The black text had been replaced by the normal wallpaper while he wasn't looking. "Uh, yeah. Sure. I'll get right on it." 

When he saw the image on Marla Rhodes' profile page, he almost felt his heart stop. 

It was, of course, a picture of the yellow brick road. 

He clicked on the photo. It brought up a MSN Instant Messaging window (hey, he hadn't instelled that!) with someone else. Immediately, text appeared. 

**Fate:** Hello, Ace.

Mike blinked, then typed a response. 

_**MKlaymoore:** Who are you?_

**Fate:** I'm part of the reason you were late last week.

There was a pause before Mike typed another response. 

_**MKlaymoore:** Why did I blank out like that?_

**Fate:** I can't tell you that yet. 

_**MKlaymoore:** Why not?_

**Fate:** I'm only here to let you know of things to come. You will find the answer to an important question soon. 

_**MKlaymoore:** What do you mean? What question?_

**Fate:** I think you know. 

_**MKlaymoore:** ... This is the point where I ask you what the Matrix is, isn't it?_

**Fate:** You'll find out soon enough, Ace. Tenshi will tell you. 

_**MKlaymoore:** Who is Tenshi?_

**Fate:** You've met him before. In the park. 

Mike wracked his brain, and then remembered: a tall man in a blue trench coat he'd run into at Central Park; he'd called him Ace by name. 

_**MKlaymoore:** So that's who he was ..._

**Fate:** You'll meet him again soon enough. Your boss is coming; I fixed the image for you. 

**(Fate went offline)**

Mike clicked off the program _just_ as Davidson walked into the cubicle. "Did you fix that photo?" 

"Uh, yeah, I just got it done," said Mike, refreshing the page and loading the _right_ photo. 

"Good," said Davidson. "Now get to work on that database." 

* * * * *

Mike felt drained as he walked into his apartment at the end of the day. The first thing he did was to change out of his work clothes and into a black shirt and blue jeans; he then sat down at his computer and got online. Now he was Ace. 

He was so exhausted that he ignored the phone's ringing and let the answering machine get it. 

"_... after the tone._" BEEP. A familiar and faintly amused voice said, "_Ace, pick up the phone._" 

He did so. "Who is this?" 

"_Take a wild guess, Ace._" 

Ace blinked. "Tenshi? I thought you sounded familiar ..." 

"_So far, the agents of the Matrix haven't found out about our interest in you yet, but that might change, so we'd better make this quick._" 

"Wait, hang on," said Ace. "All kinds of wierd shit's been going on for _weeks_ ... I mean, What's your interest in me?" 

"_If you want to find out, meet Fate at the bridge near 43rd Street,_" said Tenshi, and hung up. 

Ace stared at the phone for several moments. Then he got up from his computer. 

* * * * *

The weather had sense of narrative convenience, and so the sky was clouded over to give a sense of foreboding. There was also a hint of thunder as a black Porsche drove up to him. 

The window rolled down. It was the woman Ace faintly recognized as having barged into his apartment. "Fate," he said. 

She nodded. "Get in." 

There were two other occupants, both men dressed trenchcoats and wearing dark glasses. "Where are we going?" asked Ace. 

"To meet Tenshi," said one of the men. He was slim, and had brown hair specifically designed to look stylish. His trenchcoat was black. "I'm Styx, by the way, and this is Jaxter." 

Jaxter was heavyset and bald, and his trenchcoat was white. He abruptly took out a gun and pointed it at Ace's face. "Sorry, but this is just for our protection." 

Ace stared. Few things grab your attention as much as the business end of a .44 handgun. "From what?" he asked. 

"From you," said Jaxter. 

"What the hell ...?" 

Styx pulled up a strage, large machine. "You'll find out," he said. "Now take off your shirt." 

"_Why?_" said Ace. 

"Cuz we can't get a good scan if it's on, and if we could we couldn't get a bug out through it," said Jaxter, the gun not wavering. 

"Uh ... right." Ace pulled up his shirt, reflecting that the tactic of getting cooperation through bewilderment was certainly one that worked. 

"Here we go," said Styx, putting an odd protrusion from the machine over Ace's navel. There was a moment of silent tension in the car as Styx operated the machine. 

Then ... "Nope, he's clean." 

They all visibly relaxed, and Jaxter put away the gun. 

* * * * *

They stopped in front of what Ace _knew_ was an abandoned hotel. Ace had the strange sensation of being watched as they walked down the empty hallways. 

They eventually stopped at room 606. 

"Why this room, again?" murmured Fate. 

"Cuz there isn't a room 666," said Jaxter. 

Styx snickered. "Okay, here's where ya meet the captain," he said. 

Then they entered the room. Standing in front of a window was Tenshi. He turned to face them as they entered, which coincided with a rumble of thunder. "Welcome, Ace," he said, grinning. 

"Um ... Hi," said Ace. 


	3. Chapter 2: Unplugged

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 2   
UNPLUGGED 

Michael Klaymoore sat on a bench in Central Park, looking out over the lake. He had a lot to think about; most of it was philosophy. There are plenty of things a software programmer can think about, and philosophy is one of the less disturbing topics. 

Specifically, he was wondering about the exact definition of "real." Generally, the only idea anyone had of "real" was what they got from their senses, which by definition were imperfect, and thus the only thing one could be sure of was Renee Descartes' famous line of "I think, therefore I am." 

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man with black hair and a few white streaks through it. The man noticed him and said, "Nice day, isn't it?" 

"Yeah," said Mike. "Sometimes I wonder, though ..." 

"About what?" asked the man. 

Mike shrugged. "A lot of things." He chuckled. "Sorry, just thinking about philosophy and the nature of 'real.' You must think I'm crazy." 

"Oh, not really," said the man. "I often find myself thinking of the same things. Though myself, I approach them, as it were, from the opposite direction. Or at least, more definitively." 

"What do you mean?" asked Mike. 

"Well, _you_ start with mere _doubts_ about what is real," said the man. He made a show of glancing at his watch and turned to leave. "I must be going now, but think about what I've said, Ace." 

Mike jumped. "How do you know that name?" 

"I'll be seeing you later," said Tenshi as he walked away. 

And now it _was_ later. 

* * * * *

They sat in two chairs on either side of a small table with, oddly enough, a glass of water. 

"Undoubtedly, you must have a load of questions on your mind," said Tenshi, "but I'm sure the biggest question on your mind ... is 'which question do I ask first?'" 

"Pretty much, yeah," said Ace. "Let's start with: is this _actually_ happening?" 

Tenshi nodded. "You're wondering if this is all a dream, from which you will soon wake up," he said. "Ironically, this is not far from the truth. You must feel like Dorothy, suddenly finding yourself in the land of Oz, headed down the yellow brick road ..." 

Another question was on Ace's mind. "How do you know so much about me, and how did you hack into the system like that, _without anyone noticing_?" 

Tenshi smirked. "All in due time," he said. "You may have noticed strange things going on in your life, that have led you to ponder your _first_ question in much more general terms." 

"You guys have certainly helped," remarked Ace. Behind him, Styx chuckled. 

"That we did," said Tenshi. "Tell me, what do _you_ consider to be the definition of 'real'? You've certainly had some time to think about it, haven't you?" 

Ace shrugged. "In my opinion," he said, "real is what your senses tell you." 

Tenshi nodded. "Go on," he said. 

"Therefore," continued Ace, "the only idea anyone truly has of reality, is what their senses tell them, and how their brains interpret this." 

Tenshi grinned like a child discovering a delightful new toy. "And if either your brain, or your senses, or both become affected somehow?" 

Ace had a feeling this was coming. "Then ... your idea of reality is wrong," he said. 

"Exactly," said Tenshi with a nod. He paused. "There is, of course, one question on your mind that is the very reason you are here." 

A nagging suspicion built itself in Ace's mind as to where this was _really_ going. "What is the Matrix?" 

Tenshi smiled. "And that is the whole point, isn't it?" he said. "The Matrix is all around you. It pervades ... every aspect of your existence. No matter what you do, you see it, hear it, taste it, whether you're riding a bicycle, or updating the system's database, or helping your landlady take out the garbage. The Matrix is what blinds you from one truth." 

"What do you mean?" said Ace. 

Tenshi leaned forward, taking a small case out of his coat. "The truth is that you are trapped, Ace, in a prison for your mind. The Matrix is that which is affecting your senses." He opened it up away from Ace, blocking the view of what was in it. "Unfortunately, no one can be _told_ what the Matrix truly is. You have to see it for yourself." 

He placed the case on the table and held out his hands in closed fists. "And now we reach the crux of the matter, the point where you can either go the whole way, or retreat entirely. Take the blue pill --" And here he opened his left hand, revealing a small, blue, semitransparent pill. "... and you will wake up in your own bed, or at your computer, and you will believe whatever you want to believe. Take the red pill --" He opened his right hand, revealing an identical pill except that it was red. "... and you'll follow this thought to its true conclusion." 

There was a long silence, with only the rain outside making a sound. 

"If I pick the blue pill," said Ace, "will I get a second chance?" 

"No," said Tenshi, unmoving. "This is a one shot deal. Remember, I am only showing you the truth. No more, no less." 

There was a slightly shorter silence. Then Ace reached over and took the red pill from Tenshi's hand. 

Tenshi grinned again as Ace swallowed the pill with a sip from the glass of water. "Try to relax," he said. "It will be much easier." 

"Good thing we got the new version of the pills," muttered Jaxter. "D'you know, back in Six, they had to --" 

"Jaxter," warned Fate. 

"Sorry," said Jaxter. 

Tenshi took out a cell phone and dialed a number. "Pylon, he took the red one. See if you can get a fix soon." 

"What do you mean?" said Ace. He suddenly felt dizzy. He glanced down, and saw a faint green glow around his body. "What the ...!?" 

"Just close your eyes and try to relax," said Fate. 

"Yeah right!" said Ace, struggling to stand. His legs felt like rubber. 

"Uh-oh, we got an Agent coming," said Tenshi, and hung up the cell phone. "They cut the hardline. Jaxter, Styx, you help move Ace. Fate, come with me." 

Ace groaned as the two men helped him to his feet. "It feels ... like something's in my mouth ..." 

Styx opened his mouth to comment, then closed it again as the three of them hurried out. 

Ace's vision blurred. "... it's hot ... like I'm underwater ..." 

"Close, but not water, exactly," said Styx, unable to stop himself. 

Ace briefly opened his eyes, and saw that the green glow had now covered him completely. "... This ... can't be ... real ..." 

"That's right," said Styx as they rushed down a hallway. "It isn't." 

There was a strange sensation of falling up. The last thing Ace heard was Styx saying, "_This_ is real." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Every Machine has a purpose. And the purpose of _this_ machine was to travel through the power plant, checking to make sure all was well. 

It wasn't. 

_Damn,_ it thought, as it hovered down in front of the struggling form trying to escape from its pod. It grabbed the figure's neck, disengaging the Plug and the power cords, and then let the figure fall back into the pod. It flew away, continuing its patrol of the area. In a moment, the pod would empty, letting the nude, bald human fall into the Drains. 

* * * * *

The next thing Ace saw was Tenshi ... but without his dark glasses, and wearing an odd red uniform ... 

"Welcome," said Tenshi, "to the Real World." 


	4. Chapter 3: The Desert

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 3   
THE DESERT 

Ace's entire body ached. He also felt a tingling sensation in most of his skin. He opened his eyes, and then wished he hadn't. He groaned. "Where ... am I?" 

"You're in the real world." That was Tenshi's voice. 

Ace mumbled, "What's real? It's all ... confused by senses ..." In his incoherence, he didn't even hear the other voices. 

_"Did I look like that?" _

"No, you were more hot." 

"Sh!" 

"Your muscles were atrophied by disuse," said Tenshi. "We've had to rebuild them, and the process is still not complete ..." 

"Captain?" This was a gruff voice. "I think we'd better let 'im rest some more." 

"Of course," said Tenshi. 

To Ace's mild annoyance, he felt the world spin around him, and everything faded. 

* * * * *

Ace found himself lying on a bed in a claustrophobically small metal room. It resembled crew's quarters in a submarine. He was wearing an odd red uniform. His left sleeve was rolled up, and there was an IV tube in his arm ... 

... in a small, black, plastic _thing_, grafted to his arm ... 

There were two more, spaced along his arm. He rolled up his other sleeve, and found a matching set. He shivered, and it wasn't from the breeze on his head that he now noticed he was feeling. He put a hand on his head; there was only a faint trace of hair. What the hell? 

His hand moved down his neck ... and a chill went up his spine as he found a circle of metal at the base of his neck. 

The door opened, and a raven-haired man in a similar uniform walked in. "Oh, you're awake," he said. It was the gruff-voiced man. "I know you're Ace ... and I'm the chief medical officer here. My name's Coffin." 

Ace felt more coherent than he had before. "How appropriate," he said dubiously. 

Coffin rolled his eyes. "Here, lemme help you with that IV tube." In one swift motion, he pulled it out of Ace's arm. 

"Ow!" 

"Eh, better quick than prolonged," said Coffin. "Anyway, I'm here to figure out if you're mentally competent enough to find out the answer to the big, almighty question of 'What Is The Matrix', but if you're ironic as soon as I introduce myself, you're good enough as far as _I'm_ concerned." 

Ace was impressed. Not only could this man pronounce capital letters, he could do so _sarcastically_. "Where are we, anyway?" 

Coffin considered this. "We're ... let's see ... about three kilometers below where Sri Lanka used to be." 

"'Used to be'?" said Ace cautiously. 

"Well, it's a little later than you think it is," said Coffin. "You think it's 2004, but it's actually, oh I don't know, around 2754. None of us has any clue, actually, and the only ones who _really_ know are pretty tight-lipped about it." He shook his head. "Anyway, the Captain wants to see you as soon as you're ready." 

Ace decided that if someone like this could be convinced that they were 750 years in the future, then it must be a pretty compelling argument. "The Captain?" he asked. 

"Tenshi," said Coffin. "C'mon, let's go." 

They left the room, and almost immediately found Tenshi there. "Ah, Ace, Coffin thought you might be ready now," he said. "There's no point in trying to tell you anything when I can just show you, so let's go to the main deck." 

* * * * *

"This is my hovercraft ship, the _Marquis_," said Tenshi as they arrived in a much larger room. "Small, cold, and cramped, but it's home." 

Ace looked around. It seemed to consist entirely of machinery, with a few people in the red uniforms puttering over it, though one of them, who sat at a large computer console, wore a blue one. They all turned as the trio arrived. 

"You've already met Styx, Fate, and Jaxter," continued Tenshi, indicating them. They nodded in greeting. Apart from anything else, Ace noticed that they had worse hair. "The man in blue is Pylon, and those two are Red, Napalm, Zephyr -- who got out just a week ago -- and first officer Norton." 

"Hello, Ace," said Norton, a heavyset man with blonde hair. "I would've been there, but I was stuck in sickbay." 

"And this whole room," said Tenshi, "is the Core, from which we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix." 

Ace noticed ten exoskeleton chairs, with strange plugs in the back. He wondered what, exactly, they were for. "So when do I get the answer?" he asked. 

Tenshi grinned. "Right now," he said. "Just sit in this chair. Help him, Norton." 

Ace sat in one of the chairs, while around him they started bustling around, in preparation for something. "This," said Norton, as they plugged something into the chair behind him, "is going to feel pretty weird." 

He _felt_ something plugged into the back of his neck -- 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

-- and then everything went white. 

He looked around, but didn't see anything. A glance down revealed that he was standing on emptiness -- 

-- and that he was back in his black shirt and blue jeans from when he took the pill. What the hell ...? 

"This is the Construct," said Tenshi, behind him. Ace turned; he was wearing his outfit from before ... "From here, we can load whatever we need, from weapons, to clothes ... the sky's practically the limit." 

"So we're in a computer simulation?" said Ace. 

"Precisely," said Tenshi. As Ace watched, a television set and three padded chairs appeared in a burst of green light. 

"I'm not gonna bother asking if this is real," said Ace. "We already covered that." 

"Is it so hard to imagine?" said Tenshi. "Look at your clothes. Your hair's back, and you don't have any of the plugs from the Real. This is what we call 'residual self-image.'" 

"This is amazing," said Ace. 

"You don't know the half of it," said Tenshi. "Come, sit down. This is going to be hard for you." 

As Ace sat, Tenshi produced a remote control and pushed a button. A city skyline appeared on the screen. "This is the world as you know it -- as it existed in the year 2004. It now exists only as part of a neuro-interactive simulation called ... the Matrix. This is the world as it exists now." He pushed another button ... and the whiteness around them was replaced. 

"Welcome," he said, "to the desert of the Real." 

Ace _stared_ at the scorched, grey, deserted landscape around them. The sky was covered by immense black clouds. 

"Around 700 years ago," said Tenshi, "humanity was congratulating themselves on their latest achievement: the birth of AI - artificial intelligence. It wasn't long before the Machines began lobbying for equal rights, but when that turned sour ..." He smiled bitterly. "The Machines relied on solar power for their energy, so we thought it only logical to completely block out the sun as a prelude to defeating them. But then they discovered a new source of power: bioelectricity." 

"Bioelectricity?" said Ace. "You mean ... from life forms?" 

"Precisely," said Tenshi. "And what was a more readily available source than human beings, whose bodies generate more power than a 50-watt bulb? All they needed then was something to occupy our minds, and so the Matrix was created to give us the illusion that we were free." 

The image on the TV screen changed. "And now, humans are not born. They are grown. I could hardly believe it myself until I saw the fields where fetuses are grown until the point of birth, and then placed in the main power plant, where their minds are given the illusion of a free life." Ace noticed that the bleak landscape had been replaced by the whiteness of the Construct again. "What is the Matrix?" said Tenshi finally. "It is control for our minds. It is that which affects our brain, preventing us from seeing reality." 

Ace sat in the chair, his mouth hanging open. Okay, philosophy was all well and good -- but he had no idea it meant _this_. 


	5. Chapter 4: Programmed

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 4   
PROGRAMMED 

"I can't go back, can I?" 

"No. But if you could, would you want to, knowing what you do now?" 

".... No." 

"It's always hard for a mind to adapt, but we freed your mind because we sincerely believe you can help us. Remember that. For now, just try to get some sleep." 

* * * * *

Pylon walked into Ace's quarters the next morning. He was a tall, pale-skinned man with neatly-cropped black hair and angular features. "Good morning," he said. "Did you sleep at all?" 

"No," Ace ground out. 

Pylon grinned. "Well, you will if I have anything to do with it," he said. "I'm Pylon, the ship's operator, and it is my job to see what you can't and to _partly_ make sure you don't get yourself killed." 

"Why partly?" said Ace. 

"Because you do the _rest_ of making sure you don't get killed," said Pylon brightly. "Now, c'mon, I'm gonna fill your head with code." 

* * * * *

"Ju-Jitsu? I'm going to learn _Ju-Jitsu?_" 

"Kid, you're gonna learn _everything_ before I get through with ya." 

Ace grinned. "Just gimme the program." 

"Your wish," said Pylon, rapidly typing, "is my keystroke colon double-backslash execute command." 

There was a blur of light in front of Ace's eyes ... 

"You like?" said Pylon. 

"More!" said Ace. 

* * * * *

"Yep, he's been in there for ten hours now," said Pylon. 

"He'll want to use what he's gotten afterwards," said Tenshi. 

Zephyr continued to watch Ace's thrashing form as Pylon continued to pump code into him. "... Did I look like that?" she said. "It looks like he's getting beaten up." 

"Looks like something else to me," said Jaxter, grinning. 

Suddenly, there was a warbling noise from Pylon's console. "Hey, look who's calling from the Matrix!" said Pylon. 

Tenshi looked over at the screen and grinned. "Just in time, too." 

Ace took a deep breath as he sat up. "I know kung fu," he said. 

"Well, why don't you go into the Construct and try it out?" said Tenshi. "Zephyr, you join him." 

* * * * *

This time, the Construct was a dojo. Ace and Zephyr were wearing karati gi outfits. Standing in front of them was a tall Asian man with an undefinable air of age around him. He was wearing a pair of circular dark glasses and a simple black outfit with a faded grey jacket over it. 

"Hello," said Ace uncertainly. 

"Greetings," said the man with a slight bow. He had a faint Japanese accent. "I am Seraph. I am here through a connection between the ship's construct and the Matrix." 

Ace exchanged a glance with Zephyr, who shrugged, as ignorant as he was. 

"I will teach you some of the ways of the Matrix," said Seraph, "but before I do, let me first apologize." 

"Apologize for what?" asked Zephyr, confused. 

"For this," said Seraph. 

Ace found himself sailing towards the opposite wall from a vicious kick to his chest. He heard the sounds of punching as he got to his feet, then Zephyr suddenly landed next to him. "Here's a tip," she said. "Remember, this is a computer simulation, and it follows some of the same rules as the Matrix. You can bend or break some of them. All you need to do is _focus_." 

Ace didn't have much time to think about this, because almost immediately, Seraph was upon them. It took all of Ace's newfound skill just to keep himself from getting knocked down. _Okay, just focus ... focus ..._ For an instant, he _saw_ Seraph's hand moving towards him in an uppercut that would knock him off his feet, moving in slow motion ... and in that instant he blocked it. 

"Good," said Seraph, pausing the fight for an instant. "Now try to hit me!" 

Ace and Zephyr moved in, using a combination of moves from various martial arts, but Seraph was able to block or counter them all. "Take him from both sides!" said Zephyr, doing a flip over Seraph so that he was between her and Ace. 

And even _then_, Seraph was able to prevent both of them from landing a single blow. 

* * * * *

"Hey, guys, Zephyr 'n' Ace are fighting Seraph!" said Jaxter. The mess hall promptly cleared. 

* * * * *

Ace kept having brief moments in which he saw the "slowing down" again, and in most of them he managed to block Seraph's attacks, but he was finally hit by a stray punch, and fell back onto the floor. 

"You have at least _started_ to learn, Ace," said Seraph. 

Ace sighed. "You're too fast." 

"It has nothing to do with muscles, Ace," said Zephyr. "Is that really air you're breathing?" 

Ace arched an eyebrow. "I don't know," he said. "Are those really clothes you're wearing?" 

She rolled her eyes. "Just get up and start fighting," she said. 

Ace found it easier now, somehow. The brief bouts of slow motion were less brief and more controllable, as he began to slowly out what it _was_ he was focusing on: 

It wasn't real. 

That knowledge alone gave him a kind of power that he couldn't have had when he _believed_ he was in the real world, to a certain extent. He could just _imagine_ himself, lying on the bed in the _Marquis_' main deck, as he began to deflect _all_ of Seraph's attacks. 

Finally, he managed to kick Seraph's leg's out from under him. Seraph stood and said, "Good." He looked up. "We may now load the Jump program." 

* * * * *

Ace coughed as he was unplugged. "Ow ..." he groaned. His body ached. "I thought you said it wasn't real!" 

"Mind over matter," said Dr. Coffin. "Your neurons _tell_ your brain you just got a twelve-story facefull of pavement, and damned if it's gonna ignore something like _that_." 

Ace looked around. The entire crew was there. "Um . . . when did you all get here?" 

Styx grinned widely. "No one misses a chance to see a fight with Seraph," he said. 

"Yeah," said Napalm, who had a shock of firey-red hair and wild eyes. "One of the best kinds of entertainment this side of Zion." 

"Zion!?" exclaimed Ace, bolting upright. "You mean ... you're _Zionists_!?" 

"Oh boy ..." muttered Jaxter, facepalming. 

"Zion," said Tenshi, "is the last human city, deep underground where it's still warm. Someone happened to drop the name while they were the Matrix, and now the idea that we are the 'terrorist cult of Zion' is all over the newsmedia." 

"Hot damn," said Ace. "A whole lot of that makes sense now." 

"Great! Glad we got all that cleared up," said Pylon. "Now let's send you back in for round 2." 

Ace noticed that Zephyr was still plugged in. A glance at one monitor showed that she was on the opposite building with Seraph. "Okay," he said. 

* * * * *

"Very good," said Seraph, as Ace landed between them afte a now-successful jump. "It is clear that you are a survivor." 

"What, just from that jump?" said Ace. 

Seraph shook his head. "No. I became sure of this when you struck me," he said. "You do not truly know someone until you fight them." 


	6. Chapter 5: Version Eight

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 5   
VERSION EIGHT 

"And there are some who are so intertwined with the system, that they will fight to protect it. Ace, are you paying attention to me ... or were you looking at the woman in the green dress?" 

"Huh?" 

"Look again." 

"GAH!" 

"Freeze it," said Seraph. Zephyr was trying not to laugh. 

Ace stared past the suddenly immobile gun at the man in the black suit who was suddenly standing there. "What the hell IS this!?" 

"This is an Agent," said Seraph. "The likeness of Agent Roberts, in fact. They are sentient programs that can temporarily posess the bodies of those who are still in the Matrix. They are capable of dodging bullets, and they are many times stronger than even the best Zion runners. If you see an Agent, your only chance is to run." 

"This isn't the Matrix?" said Ace. 

"No," said Seraph. "This is another training program." 

"It's designed to teach you one thing," said Zephyr. "If you're not one of us ... you're potentially one of them." 

* * * * *

They were in the dojo again. This time, there were a set of cushions on the floor. 

"It is time for you to learn more about the history of Zion," said Seraph, sitting down. Ace and Zephyr followed suit. 

"The first version of the Matrix was to be a heaven for humanity -- a perfect world for them to live in harmony. But it failed -- the minds of those inside could not adapt, and many escaped." 

"Escaped?" said Zephyr. "You mean ... the way we did?" 

Seraph shook his head. "You had help. Those from the First Matrix self-substantiated." 

Ace felt a chill run up his (virtual) spine. He had never head the term "self-substantiated" before, but in context, he knew exactly what it meant. 

"This Matrix was a monumental failure," said Seraph. "And so the Second Matrix was created as an exact opposite: a horror, designed to reflect the pain and fear of human existence, to which life in the Real was infinitely preferable. This was an even greater failure. 

"Then, they found a midway point between the two extremes," said Seraph. "It was a re-creation of the end of the twentieth century, and the beginning of the twenty-first. The Third Matrix was a success -- ninety-nine percent of those in it accepted the program." 

"And the remaining one percent ..." said Ace. 

Seraph nodded. "They formed the city of Zion. And for a time, they opposed the Machines ... but the forces of the Matrix were always superior ... until the arrival of the One." 

"The One?" said Zephyr. "Styx said something about that ..." 

Seraph said, "The One was a man who could see the codes of the Matrix, and alter them as he saw fit. He could singlehandedly fight three Agents without breaking a sweat, and he could not only dodge bullets, but stop them in midair." He sighed. "He was a new hope for the people of Zion ... but it was not to last. He existed because of an anomaly in the Matrix that its creators could not entirely remove; the Machines sent an army to annihilate Zion, and at the same time, the One taken to the Source where he could restart the Matrix's code to prevent a cataclysmic system failure that would have annihilated the human race." 

"What's the Source?" said Ace. 

"It is where the Machines live," said Seraph. "It controls the Matrix." 

"So ... how did the One stop the Machines from destroying Zion?" said Zephyr. "I mean, it's still around ..." 

"He did not," said Seraph. "Two hundred and fifty thousand Sentinels arrived in Zion, which was then destroyed, its every inhabitant slaughtered, its very existence eradicated, as if it had never been. The One was then instructed to select a small group from within the Matrix to rebuild the city of Zion, as if this was the first time. The people never knew that they were in the fourth version of the Matrix instead of the only one." 

"Whoa," said Ace. "So ... we live in the Fourth Matrix? Or lived, anyway ..." 

"No," said Seraph. "This is the eighth. The cycle of the One occurred many more times, until the end of the Sixth Matrix. The sixth incarnation of the One was able to end the war, and for nearly half a century there was peace. But it was not to last. The Machines struck again, and if it had not been for the seventh incarnation of the One, the cycle would have begun again." 

"What did he do?" asked Ace. 

"While he was in the Source," said Seraph, "he was able to destroy the Sentinels before they reached Zion --" 

There was a sudden blaring alarm. "You must go," said Seraph. "That is the proximity alarm." 

* * * * *

Ace found himself back in the main deck of the _Marquis_ without any break in the sound of the alarm. "What's going on?" he said. 

"Sentinels," said Norton. 

"They're the real-world equivalent of the Agents," said Styx. "Main difference is, we can fight 'em." 

"Come with me," Tenshi said to Ace, as he, Pylon, and Napalm started moving towards he front of the ship. 

The cockpit somehow seemed more cramped than their quarters. Pylon and Napalm sat down at the controls, while Tenshi sat in a central chair behind them. "Let's get ready to rumble," said Napalm, activating what was clearly weapons controls. 

"Let's get ready to avoid that," said Pylon, as the _Marquis_ flew down a tunnel. 

"Where are we?" said Ace. 

"Underground," said Tenshi. "Sewer systems for an ancient city." 

And then, directly ahead of them, was a grotesque mechanical _thing_. It looked like a cross between a spider and an octopus, with a myriad of eyes and a swarm of tentacles. 

"Shit!" said Pylon. 

"Burn!" grinned Napalm, firing. Bolts of light lanced out from above the cockpit, surgically tearing it apart. 

"That was a Sentinel," said Tenshi calmly, as if nothing had happened. "One of the lesser classes, but still a thread. We're likely to run into ... oh, I'd say about thirty more in this area." 

"Whoa," said Ace. 

"Yeah, in fact, a few Sentinels are also in the Matrix, in the form of Agents," said Pylon. 

"That makes sense ..." said Ace. 

Then a dozen more Sentinels appeared. "AUGH!" exclaimed Pylon, swinging the ship to evade, even as Napalm began firing right and left. 

_"Seraph's just gone back into the Matrix,"_ said Norton's voice over the intercom. _"We'd have to get out of broadcast depth if we can evade the Sentinels properly ..."_

"Who _is_ that guy, anyway?" said Zephyr. Ace blinked; he hadn't even seen her arrive. 

"Seraph?" said Tenshi. "Damned if we know for sure. If you ask him flat out, all he says is 'I protect that which matters most.' We think he's a program in the Matrix. Kinda like the Agents, only he's a good guy. His job is to guard the Oracle, which we're pretty sure is another program. Or at least that's what Xeno -- the seventh One -- said." 

Ace watched as another group of Sentinels was destroyed by Napalm's firings. "They need Zion to survive," he said. "Until the next One comes ..." 

"That's an encouraging thought, isn't it?" said Tenshi, sounding almost cheerful. "I almost wonder what they're going to plan next time ..." 

"Shit, I don't know how much longer we can hold 'em off," said Pylon. There was a distant _clong_, and a readout indicated that one of the Sentinels had latched onto the hull. 

"Dammit," said Napalm. 

"Ready the FEMP," said Tenshi. 

"What's the FEMP?" asked Ace. 

"Focused ElectroMagnetic Pulse," said Zephyr. 

"Used to be our best weapon against the Machines, by blowing out all the circuitry around," said Pylon. "Problem is, it took _us_ out as well. Now we can aim 'em, and we've figured out a way to shield 'em that they can't duplicate too well without compromising stuff like maneuverability, effectiveness in combat ..." 

An alarm went off. "Are all of them in range?" asked Tenshi. 

"Almost ..." muttered Pylon. "Now!" 

Pylon hit a switch. All the controls retracted into compartments on the consoles, which were then covered by metal panels. Ace heard this happening all over the ship ... 

And then there was a loud buzz and a _whoomph_. 


	7. Chapter 6: Exiles

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 6   
EXILES 

It was a part of the Matrix that humans could simply not go to. It appeared simply to be an empty room, with no doors or windows, with a metal table in the middle. Six figures stood, three on each side. 

Agent Grey spoke up. "So you are saying that we discovered that their target was called 'Ace', i.e. Mr. Michael Klaymoore, immediately after he was discharged from the power plant." 

"Correct," said Agent Roberts. Insofar as it is possible for an emotionless sentient program to look nervous, this is what he did. 

"Perhaps this particular arrangement of our groups was not the most efficient one possible," said Agent Black. 

"I have noted a decreased level in our efficiency rating," said Agent Williams. 

"Perhaps keeping in the one-trio-one-naming-scheme tradition was the best course of action," said Agent White. 

"The original argument against that," said Agent Adams, turning significantly to Agent Roberts, "was that the 'batteries' might become suspicious." 

"The counterargument was that they would form the wrong suspicions," said Agent Grey. "Myself, I agree with this. We shall once again reorganize our groups, back to their original configuration." 

Agent Roberts didn't sigh. The Agents were alone, and didn't need to use their human-interaction subroutines. He _did_, however, wish that they were back in the Seventh Cycle, or before that, when there only _were_ three Agents at any given moment. 

* * * * *

The bar off in one corner of New York was called Biers. Someone had gotten the idea from a Terry Pratchett book, in which its namesake was where the undead gathered. 

This, however, was the Matrix; on one wall was a sign bearing the words: 

WAR IS PEACE   
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY   
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

And, below that, a picture of an aged, bearded man, with a hard look in his eyes, and below _that_ were the words: 

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.

Somebody had crossed out "Big Brother" and written "The Architect," but someone had crossed _that_ out as well. 

Biers was the bar where the rogue programs stayed; faced with deletion, they chose instead exile in the Matrix. It was where alarm systems could go off; clock programs could take some time off; damage simulators could have a break; and random number generators could get a mean sandwich. 

Agents didn't bother them; there was _no way_ they could dodge bullets from _all_ of them, and anyway, Agents weren't properly equipped to delete some of them. It wasn't worth a battery to attack Biers. It wasn't worth a battery to go _near_ Biers. 

Two programs walked through the door. One was tall, bald, and wore a black trench coat. He had piercing blue eyes. The other one was shorter, gangly, and had a ratty look about him. He wore a black poncho, and a pair of dark glasses, much like most other programs, and had black, oily, matted hair. 

"Here's da place, boss," he said as he led the taller one in. 

The taller one seemed confused for a moment. And then he said, SO, THIS IS WHERE WE'RE GOING TO RELAX, SNEAKER? 

The one called Sneaker looked up at him. "Uh, look, Boss, you're gonna need to use the sound system here. I don't _care_ you had to delete the last one, it's just ..." 

"Yes, I know," said the taller one with a sigh, and looked around. 

Every single other program was staring at them. About half of them were grinning. Some of the others were glaring. 

Sneaker took a bow. "Yes, we _are_ Reaper and Sneaker, the primary and secondary exile-disposal programs, whose purpose was to try and delete all _you_ guys!" 

"I left the Source," said Reaper, in a rich, deep voice, "because it got so depressing. Sneaker here joined me, simply for the sake of going along with what I was doing. I do not believe that they've created new ones yet ..." 

"So ..." said Sneaker, feeling sweat break out on his forehead. "... No hard feelings, huh?" 

There was a long silence. Then there was a slightly shorter one. 

Then two identical programs stood up and stepped forward. They had white skin, white dread locks, were dressed in white, and wore ray-bans. 

"Why should we _have_ any hard feelings?" said one of them. 

"You've left the Source to join us," said the other one. They glanced significantly around at the others. "What do we care what your purpose was before?" 

The other programs relaxed slightly, in a way that only now drew attention to the fact that they'd been tense. If the Twins didn't want someone harmed, you didn't harm them, unless you wanted the Frenchman after you. 

Sneaker grinned. "Thanks, guys!" He immediately went to the front of the bar and ordered something extremely alcoholic. 

Reaper shook his head; his counterpart seemed incapable of focusing on anything for any length of time. He didn't even need to compare Sneaker to himself, and Reaper was widely regarded as a rather single-minded program. Even most programs could focus on _some_ things. The exception in Sneaker's case seemed to be alcohol, which he could pay much attention to over a large amount of time. 

The crowd of programs was mostly silent, and what they said consisted mostly of small talk. This was because the Twins would probably listen, and given the ridiculous prizes the Merovingian charged for information, giving it to him freely didn't seem very nice. 

A mathematical program was talking to the Twins just at this moment, in fact. Reaper sat at a nearby booth, looking idly at the codes of the Matrix to see if he could interpret the sounds the hard way. 

_"... Well, I have the latest update of what you requested." _

"A list of those most recently unplugged from the Matrix, and a map of hardlines throughout the system." 

"Give it to us, then." 

"Here it is ..." The sound of a disk being dropped onto a table. _"Just to let you know ... I've outlined a few things I discovered about each ... A few of them have 'blue flags'!" _

"Blue flags ...?" 

"Tell us again what that means." 

"It means ... well, it would look like just a random glitch, simply caused by their being removed from the System ... but what it signifies_ is that the Oracle is going to pay attention to them." _

"The Oracle?" 

"Hmm ..." 

"Hmm ..." 

"Well, here's the money." The shuffling of dollar bills. _"Thank you, Matthias. Once again, you have given us information that will certainly prove useful."_

Reaper waited until Matthias had left, and then approached the Twins. "Yes?" said one of them. 

"How much is that information worth?" he asked. 

The two exchanged a glance, then gave him a hard look. "Beyond your price range," said the other one. 

"Then what about the conversation itself? The mere words you exchanged with him?" said Reaper. 

They exchanged another, equally unreadable glance, and then the first one said, "Twenty thousand." 

Reaper considered this, and then said, "And what if I already know what was said?" 

There was a long silence. Then a slightly shorter one. Then the second twin said, "Have you ever considered working for the Merovingian?" 


	8. Chapter 7: Routine Mission

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 7   
ROUTINE MISSION 

"Ace. Zephyr." 

Ace looked up from the synthesized meal, which vaguely resembled meatloaf. (He was glad he'd been born when he had. Before the Seventh Matrix, ships only had a tasteless white goop to eat when they were outside of Zion.) "Yeah, Captain?" he said. 

"Do either of you think that you are ready to re-enter the Matrix?" said Tenshi. 

Ace exchanged a glance with Zephyr, who shrugged, and said, "Well ... What would we be doing?" 

"The _Copernicus_ made a data drop in the Matrix," said Tenshi. "We've lost contact, but we think it is because they triggered the Emergency EMP, which would have damaged their ship as well as any Sentinels. We're pretty sure the Machines don't know about it, so it should be relatively safe." He looked from one to the other. "I wish you to be among those who go to retrieve it." 

"I'm ready," said Zephyr. 

"Me too," said Ace. "Might as well face it now ..." 

"Good," said Tenshi. "We'll be at a good broadcast point within the hour." He left. 

* * * * *

"Remember," said Tenshi, "it may seem a simple mission, but you must get the package at _any_ cost. The Matrix is a dangerous place." 

"I'll remember," said Zephyr, wincing slightly as the plug was inserted into her skull. 

"Okay, since this is _both_ of your first time back in the Matrix," said Pylon, "I'm going to put _slightly_ more emphasis on my warnings to watch out, and run at the first sign of any Agents, but not with much enthusiasm, because I just _know_ you're going to ignore anything I say until you're running around trying to find an exit." 

"Maybe you should have more faith in us?" said Ace. Styx snickered. 

"Yeah, whatever," said Pylon, pushing a button. 

Ace felt like his brain was being sucked out via the base of his neck ... 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

... and then he got the opposite sensation, as if the world was being pumped into his brain. 

They were in an abandoned store. On a table in front of them, a phone was ringing. Styx picked it up and said, "We're in." 

Ace examined himself; he was now dressed in a black outfit, with a red leather jacket. It was pretty eye-catching; but then, the rest of them were, as well. Styx and Fate were still wearing their outfits from before, and Zephyr was wearing ... _green_. That was the only way to describe it. She was wearing a dark green latex catsuit and a skimpy green vest, as well as pants that looked jet-black. And, of course, the obligatory dark glasses. And her _hair_ was _spiky._

She smirked, seeing his gaze. "Quit staring," she said, sounding amused. 

* * * * *

Ace simply stared out the window of the black sedan, watching as the world went by. 

Or at least, what _looked_ like the world _felt_ like it was going by. 

Ace looked down at his hands. They _looked_ real. They _felt_ real. His jacket felt real; he could feel the individual creases in the leather. 

But none of it was. It was all just a dream. If he concentrated, he could almost _feel_ the plug stuck into his head ... or was it just his imagination? 

The car pulled to a stop in front of a large building. "Here we are!" said Styx. "I'll hold the exit. You guys go in." 

"All right," said Fate. "C'mon, you two, let's get moving." She took out her cell phone. "Pylon -- what number is the PO box again?" 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Same as last month," said Pylon. "253711. Should be in the room just off the lobby." He typed away at his console, spending half his time looking at the screen. "No sign of any trouble yet. Let's hope it stays that way." 

Jaxter watched the scrolling green codes for a moment. "I live for the day when we'll be able to translate the codes into visible images," he murmured. 

"Nah, it'd be too blurry," said Pylon. "This is just an overview code -- it'd be too risky trying to look at anything more detailed. Plus, getting a good 'camera angle' would be hell." 

"Oh, you're no fun," said Jaxter. 

"No, Jaxter, I am not," said Pylon. "I am an Operator." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The post office was almost empty. "Almost closing time," murmured Zephyr. 

"We'd better move fast then," said Fate, looking around. "Let's see ... box 253711 is that way ..." She led them into a side passage, leading to a room filled with PO boxes. "You two hang around here and let me know if anything comes up. I'll get the package." She went into the room with a purposeful stride, going straight to the "253700-253799" area of the wall. 

Ace was _watching_ the security guard when it happened. He walked into the PO box room, gave him and Zephyr a funny look, saw Fate, gave a start of recognition ... 

... and _changed_. There was a blur of motion, an electronic sounding buzz/whir, and instead of a man in the black-and-white security uniform, there was what could only be described as an Agent, reaching to pull out a handgun. "Look out!" shouted Ace. 

Fate didn't even flinch. She pulled the small package out, slammed the box shut, and dived to the side, almost dodging the bullets from the Agent. 

They need to buy Fate some distraction so that she, at least, could escape. _You must get the package at any cost ..._ With those words ringing in his head, Ace impulsively pulled out his own pistol and fired at the Agent. 

He felt his stomach twist as the Agent simply dodged in a blur of motion, seeming to leave behind an afterimage that the bullet passed right through. It stopped, seeing that no more bullets were coming its way, and then spoke. 

Its voice was stiffly precise, and almost seemed drawn out, giving the impression that it had carefully considered every word. It said, "Haven't you seen an Agent dodge before, Mr. Klaymoore?" It raised its pistol and fired. 

Ace had already thrown himself out of the way, knowing sudden death when he saw it. He hurriedly got up and began to flee, unconsciously noting that Zephyr was already halfway to the exit, and he turned halfway only once to see that the Agent was behind him, pistol raised to aim with deadly accuracy ... 

And then swung around to point its pistol at Fate, who at that moment had come up next to it, and who then kicked the pistol away before kicking the Agent in the face _whilst simultaneously_ shooting it in the chest. The Agent fell backwards; in a blinding flash of light, it transformed back into the security guard, who now had a hole in his chest. 

"_Keep running!_" yelled Fate, and the three of them all but smashed through the glass of the post office doors. 

Styx was waiting for them outside; Fate all but leaped over the top of the car to slide into the seat on the other side, allowing Ace and Zephyr to quickly get into the passengers' sides. Ace hadn't even closed the door before Styx hit the gas, and the car surged forward. 


	9. Chapter 8: Escape

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 8   
ESCAPE 

"Well, that's not good," said Styx as the car barrelled down the road. "What happened?" 

"Hell if I know," said Fate. "A guard turned into Agent Grey all of a sudden ..." 

"They have names?" said Zephyr. 

"Right," said Fate. "There's Agent Grey, Agent White, Agent Black, Agent Adams, Agent Roberts, and Agent Williams. I know 'em all by sight." 

"The guard looked kinda like he recognized you, or something," said Ace. 

Fate said, "Hmm ... Maybe. I mean, I haven't exactly kept a low profile since I knocked Roberts, Adams, and Black off a building simultaneously ..." 

Ace must have been gawking. Fate grinned. "I've managed to 'kill' every single Agent at least three times in my carreer," she said. "I've managed to take 'em all down." 

Police sirens began to blare. "Looks like we're gonna have company," said Styx. "Ace, you call up Pylon. Fate, get the guns out and get ready." 

_"What the hell happened back there!?"_ exclaimed Pylon almost as soon as Ace punched in the number. _"An Agent showed up, then Fate thunked 'im, but ..."_

"That's pretty much it," said Ace. "We got the package." 

_"GOOD,"_ said Pylon. _"Now watch out. There's a bunch of squad cars in your way. Make a left at the next intersection."_

Ace relayed these instructions, and Styx swerved to the left ... while, from the right and from what _had_ been the front, a group of police cars hove into view. 

"That was close," said Zephyr. 

_"Okay, now make a right at the next turnoff,"_ said Pylon. _"It's a dead end, but there's a phone booth you can use."_

"Go right at the next street, there's a phone booth," Ace said to Styx. Into the phone, he said, "Anything else you think you should tell us?" 

_"Yeah. When I cart your bodies back to Zion, would you prefer cremation, or the Gardens?"_

Ace rolled his eyes and hung up, just as the car swerved around to face the other direction next to the phone booth and screeched to a halt. They all promptly jumped out of the car; the phone in the booth was ringing. 

Fate reached it first, and picked up the phone, putting it to her head. She promptly vanished in a bizzare green burst of light. Styx hung the phone up, and it almost immediately started ringing. 

A police car was charging towards them, and it looked like there were Agents riding it. Styx quickly took the phone, and vanished in the same way Fate had. Zephyr hung up, getting ready to pick it up again as the car got closer, almost at top speed now ... 

And Ace realized he wasn't going to have time to get out. 

He dived out of the way, seeing the green glow even as the police car smashed the phone booth in. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Zephyr gasped as she awoke. "Ace!" 

"What happened?" said Tenshi. 

"Those Agents smashed the phone booth," said Pylon. "He can't get out!" 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Agent Roberts adjusted his tie as he stepped out of the police car. "Mr. Klaymoore," he said. 

Ace had never felt this tense before. "And you are?" 

"Roberts," said the Agent. "_Agent_ Roberts. I suppose you realize how much trouble you're in, Mr. Klaymoore?" 

Ace smirked. "Yeah, it really _kills_ me, huh?" he said. 

Agent Roberts arched an eyebrow. "Indeed," he said, pulling out his Desert Eagle. Agent Adams also stepped out of the car, weapon similarly drawn. 

Ace calculated his odds. They weren't good. "Aw, hell with this," he said, and dived over -- 

-- to the car, which was still running. Styx had been too interested in doing so as well to worry. 

Without a second thought he jumped into the driver's seat, shifted into "drive", and slammed his foot on the gas pedal, opening up the cell phone with one hand. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The operator phone rang. "Operator," said Pylon. 

_"I'd like to get out now!"_

"Working on that right now," said Pylon. "In fact, you've got some help on the way. We got contact with the _Copernicus_ again, and you should be running into Tetsuo, Ice, and Reynaldo, right about ..." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ace was still barrelling down the street, cell phone in one hand, when suddenly a large black van zipped past him going the other direction. Leaning out of the passenger's side was a black-haired man in a white trenchcoat, shooting a machinegun at the Agents behind Ace ... 

_"... now,"_ said Pylon as they passed by. 

* * * * *

The Agents looked startled to see that Ace had company, and swerved out of the way to avoid Tetsuo's fire. Ice -- a muscular man with dark blonde hair -- grinned as they crashed into _another_ police car -- which was also being driven by Agents. 

"Ohh yeah!" said Tetsuo, pulling back into the van. "Another one bites the dust!" 

"Not quite," said Ice. "They can still jump at us, Tetsuo." 

"Yeah, yeah ..." 

A Spanish-looking man leaned in from the back. The sound of several motors running came from behind him. "Ice, we ready to go help wonder boy?" 

"Pretty much," said Ice. "Are all four of 'em ready to go, Reynaldo?" 

Reynaldo nodded. "Yep! Just give the word ..." 

Ice went slightly down another street, turning the van around. "We don't need 'em yet. I think this van's got a little while longer ..." 

* * * * *

"Okay, now where do I go?" said Ace. 

_"You're on a one-way street, but you should -- no, wait ... Stop! You're going onto the freeway! It's suicide! Go left!"_

Ace swerved, hurriedly going down the sidestreet to his left. 

_"Okay. I think I should say -- Oh shit, the Agents just blew up the exit Myanmar and Lovejoy were holding!"_

"Damn. NOW where do I go?" said Ace. 

_"Um ... well, there _is_ an exit that isn't being blocked by ten squad cars ... um ..."_

"It's across the freeway, isn't it?" said Ace. 

_"Fraid so, kiddo. Okay, Ice's van is coming up behind you. You're gonna have to do exactly what he tells you. He's the first officer on the Copernicus."_

Ace nodded. "Okay ... here goes ..." He drove towards the on-ramp to the freeway. 

_"Oh, crap, there's a whole bunch of Agents chasing after Ice! You're gonna have a tough ride ..."_

Ace took a deep breath. It was time to find out he was _really_ good at this ... and if not, well, dead men didn't find things out, did they? 


	10. Chapter 9: Overdrive

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 9   
OVERDRIVE 

A black car, followed by a black van, followed by three police cars barrelled onto the freeway. Some might have been surprised at the fact that the police cars seemed to be driven only by what appeared to be Secret Service _agents_, but that assumed that the people doing the thinking lacked a small but important piece of knowledge about the way their world worked. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Plyon. 

"You always do, but I think you're right this time," said Styx. 

Tenshi stared at the codes. "There's a chance," he said. "And most of the time, that's all you get." 

Pylon adjusted his headset. "Okay, Ace, I'm gonna hang up so Ice can call you." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Okay," said Ace, and hung up. The phone immediately rang again. "Hello?" 

_"Ace, this is Ice,"_ said the voice on the other end. _"See if you can jump across to our car when we pass you by, and throw on the emergency brake at the same time."_

"You say it so casually," said Ace. 

_"Hey, kid, no one said it would be easy,"_ said Ice. _"You gonna jump, or no?"_

"Didn't have any other plans for this afternoon," said Ace, shifting to the right lane so the van could get next to him. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pylon was visibly sweating. "I can't watch this ..." he said. 

"Jumping to the other van will be the easy part," said Tenshi. 

"Yeah, but if he doesn't make it ..." began Pylon. 

"He'll make it," said Zephyr. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"What are they doing now?" asked Agent White. 

Agent Black didn't get a chance to respond, because the black car had suddenly screeched to a halt, while the red-clad figure suddenly leaped from the car to the van. Agent White swerved, but slammed into the back of the car. The police car behind them, with Agent Grey and Agent Roberts, slammed into them. 

* * * * *

"Nice jump," said Reynaldo. "I'm Reynaldo, by the way, and this is Tetsuo." 

"Hello," said Tetsuo, waving from behind the machinegun. 

"Pleased to meet you," said Ace. "Now what?" 

"Well, it'll take a few minutes for the MIBs to get another chance at us, and by then, we hope to be pointed in the opposite direction," said Reynaldo casually. 

Ace stared blankly. 

"Take a look in the back," said Reynaldo, grinning. 

Ace looked in the back, and gaped. 

"You like?" said Tetsuo. 

"So ... the reason we'll be pointed backwards," said Ace, "is so we can get these babies out the back door." 

"Bingo!" said Reynaldo. "I coded 'em myself -- they'd be a bit better, but I ran into limits on what I could do. Physical rules in the Matrix, that kind of thing." 

* * * * *

"This has _not_ been my day," said Agent Roberts as they drove towards the freeway. 

"Speak for yourself," said Agent Grey. Agents didn't have any emotions -- or at least, not much -- but what there was allowed Agent Roberts and Agent Grey to form a great dislike for each other. 

"I submit that reorganizing to compensate for our incompatibility will be in order," said Agent Roberts. 

"Agreed," said Agent Grey. 

Each touched their earpieces. A moment later, Agent Grey transformed in a blur into Agent Adams. "I like that trick of host-switching," he said. 

"Focus on the mission, Agent Adams," said Agent Roberts. 

They arrived on the freeway, and saw the black van heading towards them. Agent Adams climbed out of the police car's window and onto the roof, as Agent Roberts moved the car out of its path. Adams then jumped into the air, soard towards the van, and slammed downward into its hood, smashing the engine. The back of the van began to tip upwards, and Agent Adams leaped into the air again, soaring over the ruined van as it toppled over backwards, smashing upsid-down into the pavement, killing everyone inside ... 

... which wasn't anyone, since four people were accounted for, and there were now four custom-designed motorcycles driving away at top speed. 

Agent Adams slammed feet-first into the road and glared. Motorcycles were easier to destroy, but were hell to actually _hit_. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Pylon exhaled loudly. "That was too close," he said. 

"I'm sure they'll agree," said Norton sardonically. 

Fate said, "How much farther?" 

"Another half-mile," said Pylon. "And then they'll need to come to a stop so they don't do the same number on the pay phone that that Agent did on the phone booth." 

Fate nodded, and then glanced over towards one of the empty beds. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ace grinned. "This is awesome!" he shouted over the noise of the engine. 

"You won't have it for much longer!" shouted Ice. "The exit is in that building over there!" 

Ace nodded. The fact that, simply by entering the Matrix, he was placing himself in a life-threatening situation, was one that seriously put a damper on any kind of fun. 

They screeched to a halt, jumped off without bothering to turn them off, and burst into the warehouse, handguns drawn (and Tetsuo with his machinegun at the ready). 

A figure was waiting for them in the shadows. A figure in a blue trenchcoat, in fact. "Fate!" said Ace, as somewhere in the building a phone began ringing. 

"I thought I'd come to the party late and bring a surprise," she said. 

"Ah, excellent," said Reynaldo. "It appears that in this situation, Fate is smiling on us." 

* * * * *

The three police cars screeched to a halt in front of a warehouse. Fate smashed an upper-story window, pulled the pins out of three grenades, counted to four, and tossed them out at the cars. 

They smashed through the windshields, and exploded even as the six Agents hurriedly threw the doors open to try to escape. The triple blast sent shrapnel everywhere, and Fate had to flip backwards to avoid the chunks of molten glass and metal. 

She grinned, looked out to make sure that none of them had survived, and then took out a small tape recorder. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Okay, what was that about?" said Pylon as Norton unplugged Fate from the bed. 

"Just thought I'd leave a message," said Fate, sitting up. 

"Well you really didn't need to do that anyway," said Tenshi. "Taking the time to record a taunt to leave them might have given them enough time to cut the hardline." 

Ace watched them argue for a moment, and then turned to Zephyr. "I just had a thought -- how come you looked different in the Matrix than you did in the Construct?" 

Zephyr shrugged. "I didn't want to surprise you that much yet," she said. "Figured I'd leave that to the Captain." 

Ace looked over to the Captain, who was informing Fate, calmly but firmly, that freeing people from the Matrix was more important than injuring the Machines' power plant, and should be tried first. 

"Eh, enough of this crap," said Styx. "What's in the package that we just risked our butts for?" 

"Well, let's find out," said Tenshi. "Pylon, load the program up. And see if you can contact the _Copernicus_ again." 

"Here's the package, opened and ready to go," he said. "Ah, a text file written in the code of the object itself. Anyone who opened it would've found it empty." 

"Let's take a look-see," said Jaxter, going over to another screen. "Huh. Looks like a map of known useable hardlines ..." He hit a key and a dialogue box came up. "... and a list of people who've been unplugged. If this is accurate, that Rogue must've used one _hell_ of an intelligence system. Wait a second ..." 

"What's up?" said Fate, as the crew began to crowd around it. 

Jaxter narrowed his eyes. "There's a footnote that says ... 'This was given to us by a Rogue known as Sneaker,'" he read. 

"What's a Rogue?" said Ace. 

"A program from the Machine world," said Fate. 

"They're slated for deletion, for one reason or another, so they hide in the Matrix," said Styx. 

"There's more," said Jaxter. "Um ... 'Starred names are ones that "the Oracle is going to pay attention to", in his words ...'" 

"Let's look at some of 'em," said Fate. 

Jaxter scrolled up. There were plenty of people on the list -- it listed ship names, who they were, dates of release ... 

Suddenly, he felt a chill run up his spine. He stared at the next name to appear. 

**Klaymoore, Michael. "Ace." Zion hovership _Marquis_.**

And there was a blue star in front of it. 


	11. Chapter 10: No Longer With The Agency

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 10   
NO LONGER WITH THE AGENCY 

Agent Roberts resisted the urge to smash the casette player in his grip, and simply pressed the "play" button. 

The annoying, singsong voice of Alice Trent said, _"My, my, my, are you slipping, or what? You let a _newbie_ survive the freeway? Almost unharmed? And then you just _let_ me blow up all of you at once! That would be just too fun!"_

Agent Grey pressed the "stop" button and gave a quiet sigh. "Apparently," he said, "she is attempting to provoke us into ... irrational actions." 

"A logical impossibility, of course," said Agent Roberts, privately pleased that Grey was being affeced in the same way. 

Agent Adams nodded. "But she seems so ... _capable._" 

"She is certainly is a threat," said Agent White. "I recommend that, the next time she is seen within the Matrix, all fire be concentrated on Alice Trent until termination." 

"Agreed," said Agent Grey promptly. 

The other Agents nodded. She couldn't avoid _all_ their shots. And then, a long-standing thorn in their side would be removed. 

* * * * *

Ace felt slightly incongruous about wandering through Chinatown. Sure, he knew it wasn't real, and that was a big enough hurdle to get his mind around ... but he considered that _maybe_ he should have chosen something less garish to wear than his red leather jacket. 

"Lao Ping avenue," said Red, who in the Matrix wore a silvery red tuxedo, as he led Ace down the street. "The teahouse will be ... ah, right down there. And I still say you should dress up as Vash the Stampede." 

"The novelty would wear off _really quickly_" said Ace. 

"Yeah, yeah," said Red. "Anyway, take this." He handed Ace what looked like a GPS device. 

"What's this?" asked Ace. 

"Matrix locator," said Red. "Seraph's bound to take you through a programmer's maintenance passage in the Matrix. It looks like an endless maze of corridors filled wall-to-wall with doors. This'll give you a map of where the doors lead -- that we know of." 

"What, someone took the time to go look through every single door?" said Ace. 

Red grinned as they approached the teahouse. "Nah, Xeno -- the last One -- found out a few interesting places and programmed 'em into one of these himself," he said, slowing to a stop a few feet away from the door. "Anyway, here we are. I heard once that when he unplugged people, Captain Morpheus -- he freed Neo, the sixth One -- was fond of telling them that he could only show you the door, and you yourself must walk through it." 

"I'm down with that," said Ace, and stepped through the door into the teahouse. 

Seraph was sitting there, calmly sipping a cup of tea. "Hello, Ace," he said. 

"Um, hi," said Ace, closing the door behind him. 

"The Oracle is expecting you," said Seraph, standing up and putting the teacup aside. "I will take you to her, but before I do, first let me apologize." 

Ace folded his arms across his chest. "For what?" he said, grinning. 

Seraph bowed. "For this." And then he leaped. 

Ace, however, was expecting it this time, and jumped backwards to avoid the kick. He _focused_ the way he had before, and jumped towards Seraph, thrusting his leg out. Seraph simple leaned backwards, arms stretched out to the side, and Ace sailed over him at a speed that was probably much faster than a standard Olympic racer. Ace swung his foot downward, kicking Seraph's chin, and Seraph simply grabbed his leg and tossed him towards one of the walls. Ace winced as he crashed to the floor, then hurriedly rolled to the side to avoid a rough kick from the program, did a flip towards him, and managed to slam both feet into Seraph's chest. 

Seraph stumbled a few feet back, and then held a hand up. "Good," he said. 

Ace, still primed for a fight, was taken completely off-guard. 

Seraph took a bow. "The Oracle will see you now," he said. "Come with me." 

He took out a key and inserted it into the doorknob leading outside, and turned it. Ace thought he heard a buzzing noise, and then Seraph opened the door. 

There was another door on the other side. 

The two of them stepped through. There was another door on either side of the two doors, and another door beyond them. If anyone asked Ace what was in the corridor, he would have said, "Doors." 

"So this is the programmers' maintenance passage?" said Ace. 

Seraph nodded, closing the door. "Yes. The Matrix is like a building: it rests upon a foundation that is built upon a substructure. Through these doors can be found any door in the Matrix." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I hate it when that happens," grumbled Pylon, as Seraph and Ace had completely ceased to register anywhere in the Matrix. He began randomly flipping through various locales in the code. 

"Wait ... go back one," said Fate, looking over his shoulder. 

"Hmm?" said Pylon. "Hey -- looks _almost_ like an Agent, but ... hey, he just disappeared when he went through that door!" He suddenly grinned. "Oh. I see." 

Fate smirked. "He's about to meet an old friend of mine ..." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ace heard the click of a door behind him. He turned around, and found himself staring down the barrel of a Desert Eagle. "GAH!" 

"Boo," said the man in the ... _white_ suit. 

Seraph bowed. "Greetings, Agent Ashton." 

"Seraph, please," said Ashton, lowering his gun. "I am no longer an agent of the System." He tilted his head slightly. "And this is ...?" 

"Uh ... I'm Ace," said Ace. "Um, is this guy ...?" 

"He was an Agent," said Seraph. "But he was freed by Xeno." 

"He was the last One, wasn't he?" said Ace. 

"Indeed," said Ashton, as they resumed their journey through the corridors. "It would seem to be a tradition of the One, once he has fully surpassed all other Zionists, to detatch an Agent from the system." 

"Agent Ashton was forcibly removed from the system by Xeno. Agent Smith became a virus when Neo destroyed his original shell," said Seraph. "Agent Wilkins was simply deleted by Retter, and Agent Miles, Agent Watson, and Beelzebub -- since part of the Nightmare Matrix was based upon Hell -- were simply corrupted." 

"Interesting," said Ace. 

"Yes," said Seraph. "I do not believe that this ... tradition was known to Zion until Ashton was freed." 

"That is correct, to my knowledge," said Ashton. "Are you taking Ace to see the Oracle?" 

"Yes," said Seraph. "And you?" 

"I made ... a bet with the Merovingian concerning the Oracle," said Ashton. 

"The Merovingian?" said Ace. 

"A powerful program," said Seraph. "He governs, among other things, the passage between the Matrix and the Source. Here we are." 

They came to a stop in front of a door that appeared to be identical to every other door. Seraph opened it, revealing the inside of a homely apartment. 

"You mentioned six Agents who were freed," said Ace. "But there's been seven cycles completed already. What was the first?" 

Seraph paused. "I'm afraid I cannot say," he said. "Enter." 


	12. Chapter 11: Visions

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 11   
VISIONS 

Ace was stumped. He'd been under the impression that programs would, on the whole, be like Agents, except in the case of Seraph, who was clearly a special case. 

He had _not_ expected a program to be anything like the little girl who was now sitting on the couch next to him. 

She had greeted him by saying, "Hello. My name is Sati. Your name is Ace. This is the home of the Oracle." 

"Uh ... yeah," said Ace. There seemed to be something ... _unrealistic_ about the way she spoke ... 

Their conversation continued along those lines, including Sati's origins. 

"I didn't know programs could ... love," said Ace, when the subject touched upon her _parents_. 

"The word 'love' is just a word," said Sati, sounding vaguely as if she'd just been told to say this. "What matters is the connection the word implies, doesn't it?" 

"That's true," said Ace. "Do you miss your parents?" 

"Sometimes," said Sati. "But the Train Man occasionally allows them to visit me. I don't like him." 

Ex-Agent Ashton stepped into the living room. "I have an answer that will most likely amuse the Merovingian, even if he is not entirely satisfied," said Agent Ashton. 

"What did he want?" asked Ace. 

"He wanted to see the Oracle's eyes shot out," said Ashton. "I have taken a photograph of her, and will simply shoot out the eyes of the photograph." 

Ace grinned. "What, he hates the Oracle or something?" 

"Yes," said Ashton simply. "The Oracle is ready to see you now." 

* * * * *

Ace walked into the kitchen with, he thought, a mind freed from expectation; there was no reason to be surprised by anything he came upon. He didn't even blink when he saw the dark-skinned old woman who seemed to be only semi-wizened, and had a faint lisp, sitting in the chair and reading a copy of Time Magazine with expostulations on the Zion terrorist threat on the cover. 

"You must be Ace," she said, putting the magazine down. 

"And you're the Oracle," said Ace, taking his ray-bans off. 

She smiled and nodded. "You're one of the first people who isn't surprised by what I look like." 

Ace shrugged. "The kindly-old-grandmother motif of the apartment kinda gave it away," he said. "I've just sort of given up being surprised, anyway, although Sati kinda threw me off guard." 

The Oracle nodded. "She is a special case," she said. "Her parents programmed her to appear and act human, and to be held down by gravity, and other basic physical laws. But they left out many of the limitations that most humans have in the Matrix. She was the one who actually reset the system, instead of the One at the end of the Sixth Matrix, and she was largely responsible for what the Seventh was like." 

"Really," said Ace, looking back towards the living room. He then turned to face the Oracle. "So. The reason _I'm_ here." 

The Oracle sighed and shook her head. "You really weren't supposed to meet me yet." 

* * * * *

_"Hey, whatcha got, boss?" said Sneaker, chasing after Reaper as they left Biers. _

"A list," said Reaper simply, walking with long strides. He had long since given up all attempts to simply avoid contact with Sneaker. 

"Cool! What's it a list of?" asked Sneaker, grinning in delight. 

* * * * *

"No one can see past the choices they can't understand," said the Oracle. "And some of the rogue programs in the Matrix are unpredictable." 

* * * * *

_"Hardlines," said Reaper, "and recently-freed Zionists. Including ones whom the Oracle intends to meet." _

"She knows what guys she wants ta meet even before they're freed!?" exclaimed Sneaker. 

"Well, I'd imagine that, being an oracle, that's her job," said Reaper with a shrug. 

"Lemme see!" said Sneaker. 

* * * * *

"So you didn't know that this ... 'Sneaker' program would do something like that," said Ace. "I guess ... um ..." 

The Oracle shrugged. "You're thinking I don't know everything," she said. "I've never made that claim." She sighed. "The most I've claimed is that I know enough." 

* * * * *

_"So what do you want to show me?" said Ice, frowning. The program was getting on his nerves. _

"This disk," said Sneaker, holding up a disk. "It's a map of hardlines, and list of your new guys -- including the ones the Oracle's gonna pay attention to! You can have it free -- no charge!" 

* * * * *

"But you didn't know enough," said Ace. 

The Oracle shook her head. "No, I guess not," she says. "Fortunately, this isn't a big disaster." 

* * * * *

_"Let me see that," said Ice, taking it from Sneaker's hand. "Why are you doing this?" _

Sneaker shrugged. "I just felt like it. You can take that one, I've got my own copy." 

* * * * *

"And yet you invited me here," said Ace. 

The Oracle shrugged. "I thought I'd better tell somebody in Zion," she says. "And you're ... probably the most significant." 

Ace blinked. "How?" 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I have a bad feeling about this," said Pylon under his breath. 

_"What's to be worried about?"_ said Red. 

"Largely, the fact that you're just loitering around," said Pylon loudly, annoyed that Red was still listening. Then his eyes widened as he looked at the code. "Uh-oh." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Because once you've become a captain of a ship -- perhaps the _Marquis_, perhaps not," said the Oracle, "you will free a certain person from the Matrix. And that person, once he becomes a captain, will free the eighth incarnation of the One." 

* * * * *

Red sharply said, "What!?" 

_"Get out of there! Don't bother with Ace -- he'll find his own way! Just get out of the Matrix! All six Agents are coming!"_

Red looked around. He heard screams, and caught a glimpse of a black suit. 

Considering his options, he hurried into the teahouse. 

* * * * *

"Don't try to start looking now, though," said the Oracle. "Neither of them have been born yet." 

Ace stared. "You really know how to look ahead, don't you?" he said. 

Seraph walked in. "You must go now," he said. "There isn't much time." 

"I'm sorry we don't have more time, Ace," said the Oracle, "but all I'll say now is this: good luck. You're going to need as much of it as you can get. Just keep alive, okay?" 

* * * * *

"Sorry!" said Red. "I'll get out another way." He turned away from the door, looking at the far wall, thinking it shouldn't be too hard to break through. Bullet holes appeared in the walls. He pulled out his gun as the door slammed open -- 

-- revealing Ace. "C'mon!" 

"Jesus, don't do that!!" exclaimed Red. "I almost blasted your brains out!" 

"You must come quickly," said Seraph. 

Red shrugged, decided that, if anything, Seraph had to be trustworthy, and then ran in after them. 

The door slammed shut. The door slammed open, and Agent Grey rushed in. 

He put a hand to his earpiece. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"MOTHER OF GOD!" screamed Pylon as the phone went dead. 

"Pylon, as long as they're with Seraph, they'll be safe," said Tenshi jadedly. 


	13. Chapter 12: Key Issues

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 12   
KEY ISSUES 

"Lucky us," said Red. "The others got out right before they cut the hardline." 

"I will find you a door near another exit," said Seraph. "This way." 

They jogged down the hallway, but came to a sudden halt as the door opened in front of them. 

"Agent Roberts," said Seraph. 

"Seraph," said Agent Roberts, with a glare. He had a key in his hand. "Get out of my way and allow me to destroy these Zionists." 

"I cannot," said Seraph. "I am not subject to your command, and this passageway is outside of your jurisdiction. How did you get in here?" 

"By definition, the whole of the Matrix is my jurisdiction," said Agent Roberts. The whole of him was a glare. "The latest version of the Keymaker was kind enough to give me a key." He gestured with it. 

"Before I do, let me first apologize," said Seraph. 

"For _what?_" asked Agent Roberts. His _voice_ glared. 

"For this," said Seraph, and kicked the key out of his hand. 

While they fought, Ace and Red slipped out one of the doors. 

They were standing in an empty office in a skyscraper. Red took out his cell phone. "Hey Pylon!" 

_"I -- d'h --- uh -- Ah, there you are!"_ said Pylon. _"There's a hardline right in front of you."_ The phone on the desk began ringing. 

"Great!" said Red. "Hey, Ace, we're going!" 

Ace held up the key. "Excellent," he said. 

Red answered the phone and vanished in a burst of code. Ace hung up, and the phone promptly began ringing. 

The door flew open as Seraph was slammed against it. Agent Grey fired, even as Ace picked up the phone ... 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"I stand thoroughly corrected," said Tenshi. 

Ace gasped as he sat up. "That was too close," he said. "Next time, I'm gonna go first." 

"What _was_ that thing you picked up? said Pylon. "It took longer to download than _you_ did." 

"It was a key," said Ace. "That Agent said that the Keymaker gave it to him ..." 

Tenshi frowned, and then understanding dawned on him. "Ah, of course -- the latest version would still be with the Machines ..." 

"Huh?" said Zephyr. 

"The Keymaker's a program," said Norton. "There seems to be a new version of 'im for every Matrix. He goes Rogue shortly after the One shows up, and gives 'im the Key to the Source. I think." 

"So the One goes to the Source, and resets the Matrix, and screws with the Sentinels, so that _both_ sides of the war can survive for another hundred years?" said Ace. 

Styx rolled his eyes. "Well, when ya put it like _that_ ..." 

"Actually, before, Zion got destroyed, but we're improving," said Fate. "And I still say I should've gone with them." 

"You would have gotten killed," said Pylon. "The Agents are too ticked off at you right now. Seraph _said_ that when he phoned us to say the Oracle wanted to see Ace." 

"You know how well I can fight the Agents," said Fate. 

"But speaking of the Oracle seeing Ace," said Tenshi, turning to Ace, "what did she tell you?" 

Ace considered his options. "Um, well," he said, "she said that ... she hadn't meant to see me _yet_, but that she just wanted to, um, let me know about how it was messed up so I wouldn't be all expecting her to call us." 

Tenshi considered this. "A good idea, all things considered," he said. "Still, anything else the Oracle said is for you and you alone." 

Ace nodded. "So, what's up with that key?" 

"It's _huge_, that's what," said Pylon, who never passed up a chance to complain. "I mean it has _way too much code_ to be ordinary. You said the Keymaker made this?" 

"Uh, that he gave it to the Agent," said Ace. 

Pylon grinned. "Okay, if we can copy the code, this gives us _way_ too big an edge," he said. "Got an Agent on your tail? Just slip through a door, and unlock it ... start from anywhere, get anywhere ..." He suddenly rounded on Fate, who had opened her mouth to say something. "NO, you are NOT going in there yet!" 

* * * * *

Meanwhile, elsewhere, another ship was trying something. 

"All right, you swabs," bellowed Captain Nimoy, a dark-skinned man with a handlebar moustache. "I'm not captain of the _Nautilus_ for nothing! Let's get ready to test this new weapon!" 

"_Ja_, you're captain of the _Nautilus_ because of the vague literary reference, i.e. Captain Nemo," said Themus, as he lay back onto the bed. "And you specifically _asked_ for this ship." 

"Be nice," said Second Officer Essence, a slender, blonde-haired woman, wincing slightly as Bolt, the Operator, inserted the plug into her skull. 

"I don't suppose asking any of you to be serious will get any kind of result?" said Bolt sarcastically as he moved to plug in Themus. 

"The same thing goes for you," said Essence. 

Bolt snorted. "I still say we should send in Pavlov and Oort," he said, plugging in Nimoy. "This is _Star Trek_ all over again, with the Captain and his First Officer going on dangerous away team missions. It's a good thing Dr. Lovecraft has no plug, or else --" 

"Bolt," said Nimoy warningly. 

"Shutting up," said Bolt, and he went to tap at the controls. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Somewhere, in a conference room in an office building somewhere, a phone at one end of the table began ringing, and three figures materialized in a burst of green code. 

"We're in," said Nimoy, and hung up. He was wearing a black trench coat. 

"Great," said Essence, running a hand through her silver hair. 

"Never thought I'd say something like this," said Themus, "but now we just need to find an Agent ..." 

A high-backed swivel chair rotated around, revealing a black-suited figure holding his hands steepled in a position that, amazingly enough, has not been made a capital offense. "You called, Mr. Langley?" said Agent Black. 

"Ah, good, just one of the guys we wanted to see," said Nimoy, striding over to him with the air of someone interested in a business proposition. 

Agent Black arched an eyebrow. "You wish to defect?" he said. 

"Well, when you put it like _that_..." said Nimoy, and suddenly took out what looked like a squirt bottle and sprayed it at Agent Black. 

Agents are designed to be able to dodge bullets. They also know better than to try to dodge something harmless, in case someone was watching. Agent Black was expecting to simply wince at the spray of liquid in his face and then kill these evidently insane runners. He was _not_ expecting to suddenly glow brightly and transform to a young man named David Galloway, who looked around in confusion. "Wh-wh-what's going on!?" 

"It worked!" said Nimoy, cackling. "And look who it is!" He took out his cell phone. "Bolt, get us ready to go! And make it snappy, or I'll have you keelhauled!" 

Dave twitched, and the others tensed. "Who are you people!?" he said, terrified. 

"Nobodies," said Themus blandly, as Nimoy picked up the phone and vanished. Essence hung up. 

"WHAT THE HELL!?" exclaimed Dave. "Th-that guy just disappeared!" 

"Excellent, you haven't been taken over again," siad Essence, grinning as she picked up the phone and vanished. 

"Taken over ...!? What!?" said Dave. 

"I'll put it this way, Brain," said Themus, hanging up again. "The Matrix has you." He picked up the phone, and then vanished. 

Dave _stared_. What the HELL had just happened? How did they know his screen name? 

And what was the Matrix? 

He eventually found out. Because he was so annoyed with Themus for that snide demeanor, he punched him the first chance he got. In deference to their military sensibilities, he did it during training. 


	14. Chapter 13: Haven

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 13   
HAVEN 

It was the first time people had entered the Matrix and successfully used squirt bottles as a weapon. 

"Agent repellant," said Tenshi. It was a better phrase for it than anything else. 

"That is even more brilliant than the key," said Pylon, looking over at the codes. 

"Um, could you explain this for someone who hasn't gotten around to getting a code program 'crammed into his skull' yet?" said Ace. 

"Long story short," said Jaxter. "It's a virus, that can be embedded in any substance. Bullets, water, anything. Then, if it comes into contact with any human who's still plugged into the Matrix, it labels them as uninhabitable for Agents, as if they were dead ..." 

"... without actually killing them," said Zephyr. 

"I want to try it," said Fate. 

"First we want to make sure that they haven't found a way to quickly remove it since that little stunt they pulled with Brain," said Tenshi sharply. 

Napalm snickered. "I hear he kicked Themus's ass when he was trying out his moves in the dojo," he said. 

"I can't wait to try it out," said Styx. "Can ya install it in a taser?" 

"I don't think we should just 'try it out,'" said Norton. "Code like that is going to be noticed, even moreso than our errant signals." 

Pylon nodded. "Yeah, especially if more than one person at a time brings in something with the Agent Repellant in it," he said. "Let's just bring one weapon on the next mission, and ... well, we _won't_ find out that it doesn't work, cuz dead people don't usually find things out." 

"You're such a pessimist," said Ace. 

"I prefer the term 'realist'," said Pylon. "Anyway, back to the subject that got interrupted by this broadcast ..." 

"Right," said Tenshi. "We're going back to Zion for general service and refuelling. Napalm, what's our current ETA?" 

"Another nine hours," said Napalm. "I suggest we all get some rest and relaxation. Zephyr, Ace, get ready for the sight of your lives." 

Ace grinned wryly. "So, do we get some kind of bare-bones apartments there, or what?" 

"Actually, we're at the point now where what you get looks vaguely like an apartment back in what you probably still think of as home," said Red. "They've worked up some synthetic plastic, some artificial hardwood -- it can get pretty expensive, but it feels like every day we come up with better ways of living." 

"So the Real World is getting more like the Matrix," said Zephyr. 

Red shrugged. "Well, when you put it like that ..."

* * *

Ace felt a plethora of feelings as the _Marquis_ approached the large double-doors, bristling with weaponry, that was large enough for three hoverships to go through at once. So, this was where the humans lived in the Real, in their neverending war with the Machines: a city underground, built on tiers, with over a million inhabitants there. He'd begun to think of the _Marquis_ as home, despite Red's comments to the contrary, but this was ... well, it was the home of the _Marquis_, when you got right down to it. 

He glanced to the side, and saw Zephyr glancing towards him. She looked exactly how he felt. 

"This is the _Marquis_, requesting clearance to land," said Tenshi. "Transmitting clearance codes now." 

A voice crackled over the radio. _"Marquis, you are cleared for landing in Bay 4. Welcome home."_ The doors began opening. 

"Thanks," said Tenshi. "It's good to be back." 

The hovership flew through the bay doors. Ace watched as several dozen heavily-armed soldiers, including a large robotic battle suit, lowered their weapons as the _Marquis_ approached. 

Hundreds of people were milling about the docking bay, wearing both the red and blue uniforms, as well as a few white-sleeved brown uniforms; Ace saw at least four other ships, and now that he could see the ships clearly from the outside, he saw that they looked vaguely like submarines and vaguely like helicopters, with their names emblazoned on the sides. _Kyushu_. _Argent_. _Mohammed_. _Nebuchadnezzar III_. 

"Three," he murmured. 

"The first _Neb_ found the One in the sixth Matrix," said Tenshi. "The first two had been destroyed, in various conflicts with the Machines." 

"I see," said Ace.

* * *

The first thing Ace noticed when he stepped out of the ship was the smell. He hadn't really identified the smells on the _Marquis_, given that the ship contained the only smells he had ever actually experienced, but there was a definite difference. Dusty machinery, for one thing. More oily. A hint of plasma, too, which Ace assumed had something to do with the hover generators. 

"Captain Tenshi!" A man with swept-back black hair in one of the white-sleeved uniforms approached. "Got your new recruits?" 

"Yes, Commander Jaxom," said Tenshi. "Ace, and Zephyr. I was going to contact housing to get them one of the vacant military apartments ..." 

Jaxom nodded. "You handle the business. I'll show these newbies around ..." 

Ace stayed in his position behind Tenshi. Commander Jaxom made him slightly nervous. "CS fan?" he murmured to Jaxter. 

Jaxter grinned and nodded. "He had a string of numbers after his name, too." 

Ace nodded, running slightly to catch up with Jaxom and Zephyr. 

"Since this is obviously your first time here," he was saying as they went through a large pair of double doors and into an elevator, "I'm gonna have to tell you to watch out and make sure you aren't killed by vertigo." 

"Killed by vertigo?" said Ace. 

"Right," said Jaxom as the elevator began to descend. "Of course, it ain't the _vertigo_ that's gonna kill ya ..." 

"Pardon?" said Zephyr. 

Jaxom grinned. "You'll see!" 

Ace blinked at the size of the area the elevator opened out to ... and when he stepped out, and saw how far _down_ it went, he outright _stared_. "Holy shit," he muttered. 

"Whoa," said Zephyr. 

The view was _amazing_. He'd known what to expect, but to quote Morpheus again, there was a difference between knowing the journey and actually walking it. 

"You like?" said Jaxom. 

"Yep," said Ace, staring downwards as if hypnotized. There seemed to be hundreds of stories, spiraling downwards, with immense bridges spanning the gap every dozen or so floors. "And people _live_ here!" 

Jaxom snickered. "So, howabout I show you two to yer apartments? Or would you rather share one?" 

Ace blinked, turning towards him in surprise. "Um, no thanks, separate works for me." He glanced to Zephyr. "Uh, if it's all the same to you ..." 

Zephyr, to his mild surprise, was blushing faintly. "Um, separate is fine," she said. 

"Aww, c'mon, you two make a cute couple!" said Jaxom, grinning widely. He withered under their combined glare. 

"If this were the Construct," said Zephyr, "I'd _so_ kick your ass." 

Jaxom's grin returned and redoubled, suddenly taking a nasty edge. "I can arrange that," he said. "Lotsa people with holes can afford a Construct in their apartments. And I happen to have three plugs for it, and I'm goin' off-duty in twenny minutes. Once I've gotten you two to your places, let's all have some fun!"

* * *

Jaxter's choice of scenery for sparring was the jump program. In the Matrix, he wore a pair of loosefitting black pants and a leather jacket. (The pair of dark glasses went without saying.) He grinned, and struck a combat pose. "I'm gonna give you a taste of yer first jump all over again!" 

"I'll make you eat those words," said Ace, and struck a slightly more relaxed stance, beckoning. 

"And the pavement," said Zephyr, adopting a pose that reeked of tension to begin. 

Jaxter snickered. "I've only been taken down on three-to-one odds by new recruits," he said devilishly. "You two are so green, you might as well be still plugged in!" 

_Trying to provoke us,_ noted Ace. _That, or he's just plain damn overconfident._

And then the alarms went off. 


	15. Chapter 14: Impulse

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 14   
IMPULSE 

When the Runner in front of him stopped talking, Agent Grey sat a moment, digesting the information. "An interesting proposal, Mr. Hawke," he said. "Or -- 'Cyclone' as you are also known. May I ask what this ... precedent you referred to would be?" 

Cyclone shrugged. "Well, right after the first war ended," he said, "people got a choice about who they worked for. Zion ..." 

"... or us," said Agent Grey. "As I said, an interesting proposal. And as a token of your loyalty?" 

Cyclone smirked. "I get you the source code to the Agent Repellant," he said. "Maybe even work on a counter to it." 

Agent Grey raised his eyebrows, the faintest trace of a smile on his face. "That," he said, "will do nicely." 

Cyclone nodded. "Right," he said. "Just a little longer, and we'll get some people from other ships. The Argent's crew is a little bit small ... but we'll have a bigger crew in a little bit."

* * *

And then it was a little bit later. 

"What the HELL'S going on!?" barked Jaxom into a microphone. 

_"The Argent just blasted its way out of the docking bay!"_

"Shit!" 

_"Yeah, it's hit the fan!"_

A blaring announcement ordered all crew members to return to their ships. Ace and Zephyr immediately ran towards the nearest elecator, where several other people were also crowding. 

They made their way to the _Marquis_, which was already halfway towards getting ready to take off, despite what appeared to be a nasty burn mark across the bow. 

"What's going on?" said Zephyr. 

"Besides the obvious?" said Fate. 

"Apparently, several people who'd been on leave jumped onto the _Argent_, the crew of which seems to be defecting to the Machines," said Tenshi. "Their captain and first officer was killed by an Agent during their last foray into the Matrix ... in retrospect, we probably should have wondered a bit more about that." 

"_Why_ would ANYONE want to defect to the Machines!?" exclaimed Ace. 

Tenshi shrugged. "Any number of reasons," he said. "Maybe when they'll retire, they'd rather settle down in the Matrix with no knowledge of reality, with the logic that ignorance is bliss." 

"It gets better," said Jaxter, rushing into the room and looking harried. "Styx was with them." 

Ace blinked in surprise, feeling a knot in his stomach. "Styx...!?" 

He thought he'd known his crewmate and Jaxter's best friend; true, he _had_ sometimes commented on how he'd missed his old life, but Ace never imagined that he'd betray Zion. 

_"Everyone, fasten your seatbelts,"_ said Pylon over the ship's intercom. _"Let's get ready to blow this popsicle stand!"_

There was a pause, and then Dr. Coffin's voice said, _"The expression is, 'it's _time_ to blow this popsicle stand!"_

* * *

The _Nebuchadnezzar III_ and the _Marquis_ flew down the tunnels. _"Looks like they're headed for broadcast depth,"_ radioed Heracles, the captain of the _Neb_. 

"So they're going into the Matrix," murmured Tenshi. 

"Any reason why they'd want to?" said Ace. 

"To, uh, consummate their relationship with the Machines," said Napalm wryly. "We gonna blast their asses, or -- oh shit." 

As the _Argent_ rounded a bend in the tunnels, a swarm of Sentinels flew towards them from the other direction. There appeared to be dozens of them. Pylon yelped. 

"Battle stations!" thundered Tenshi. Ace, who had been given real-world combat training in the intervening time, ran towards the controls to one of the main guns and sat down, strapping himself in. 

Okay. It was like every other type of programmed skill: at first glance, the layout of the controls were incomprehensible, but then there was an odd sort of familiarity about them, and then he almost immediately he knew everything he had to do. 

He grabbed the controls of the guns and began firing at the Sentinels as they drew near. Quickly, the _Marquis_ and the _Nebuchadnezzar III_ made short work of the swarm -- 

-- before hundreds of Sentinels flew in from all directions. Pylon began screaming profanities. 

_"Damn, that's a lot!"_ said Heracles. 

"Indeed," said Tenshi, and switched frequencies to that of the Sentinels. "Okay, you win, the _Argent_ can go if you want!" he said. "So, may we go away without getting destroyed?" 

One of the Sentinels radioed back. _"No,"_ it said, heavily distorted by the low-quality. 

Fate blinked. "That sounded like Agent White," she murmured. 

Apparently, the microphone had picked it up. ___"Yes,"_ said the voice. _"It will be very satisfying to destroy you, Miss Trent."_

Pylon chimed in, "Will it help if we throw her out the window and let you have her?" And then he yelped as Napalm shoved him over. 

_"It will not,"_ said the voice. 

"EMP charged and ready," said Red. 

Tenshi nodded, and switched frequencies back to radio the _Neb_. A moment later, shields went up over the machinery. 

_Bugger,_ thought Agent White, right before his Sentinel -- as far as he was concerned -- ceased to exist. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Your sentinels have been destroyed?" said Agent Black. 

Agent White nodded, grimacing. "Yes. They used the EMP." 

"Disappointing," said Agent Black. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Okay ... so now what?" said Ace, once the ardurous process of retracting the shields had been finished. 

"Well, if the Agents get their hands on that Repellant program, we're not exactly screwed, we're merely back to where we were before," said Pylon. "Also, I do _not_ relish the notion of having another ship running around." He shrugged. "Hell, with the resources the Machines have, they might even have it _better_. Maybe IV tubes or something feeding them, and they have hamburgers in the Construct!" 

"Actually, _we_ might have that in another decade," said Red. "I overheard Gitchell and Odgers from the _Triant_ saying something about that ..." 

"Shadaaaap!" said Pylon. "You don't need to make my job seem _worse_ than it does already!" 

"Um ... the Argent?" said Fate. 

"Oh, right," said Pylon. 

"Actually, I have an idea for what to do about that," said Norton. "Pylon, you're definitely not going to like this. Neither, probably, are you, Captain, especially given who it involves going into the Matrix. But at the moment, I feel that preventing the Agents from getting that program into their hands should be top priority." And he told them his plan. 

There was a pause. Then Pylon said, "Norton? For the record, you suck." 


	16. Chapter 15: The Norton Maneuver

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

CHAPTER 15   
THE NORTON MANEUVER 

Inside the Matrix, several people materialized in front of a phone booth in an abandoned subway station. 

"Here we go," said Cyclone. "Time to phone the Agents." 

"And they'll bodyjump here?" said Lovejoy, a crew member from the _Copernicus_. 

"Nah, we picked this spot so that no coppertops'll run into us," said Jyslen, who'd been from the _Enterprise_. "The Agents are coming here the old-fashioned way." 

Cyclone dialed a number. "Hiya. Yep, this's me. You around here? Ah, good." 

There was the sound from the direction of the stairs of a black sedan driving up. "That'll be them now," he said, wandering towards the entrance and hanging up. "Looks like they came early." 

"Mr. ... Cyclone," said Agent Grey as they emerged from the subway, flanked by Agent White and Agent Black. "Did you bring the program?" 

Cyclone grinned. "Got it right here," he said, holding up a disk. 

It promptly got shot by a sniper rifle. "Shit!" said Cyclone. 

"Don't worry, I have a spare. It's in these bullets," said Lovejoy, tossing Agent Grey a handgun. 

Agent Grey frowned and turned towards the source of the gunfire. "There," he said, pulling out his own Desert Eagle and -- 

-- dodging as more bullets flew towards him. 

"C'mon! We gotta get outta here!" said Cyclone, running back down the stairs. 

He saw someone disappearing into green codes into the pay phone, and then the phone exploded. 

"Aww, shit," said Cyclone, pulling out his cellphone. "Zebes? Yeah, where's the nearest hardline?" He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I _know_ there's an Agent right behind me." 

Agent Grey's face remained unreadable. "You'd better come with me," he said. "Fortunately, you will not need to worry about police officers. Or me, for that matter." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Fate opened her eyes. "Ready for the next intercept point," she said. 

"Yeah," said Pylon, typing up. "Y'know, the thing I love about it when Agents get into cars, is that you only need to destroy the car, which _can't_ dodge bullets." 

He pushed another button, and Fate felt herself pulled back into the Matrix. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ace had never held a grenade launcher before, but he'd had several years of experience programmed into himself by Pylon. This didn't mean he was _comfortable_ with it, however. Pylon had told him not to worry, because "you will most likely _not_ have time to get used to it," and the way he'd said this didn't help. 

He aimed it towards the road, and waited for Fate to make her move, and tried to ignore the approaching sounds of gunfire.

* * *

Cyclone had his machine gun out, and was riding shotgun in the Agents' sedan, firing left and right. "_Blasted Zionists!_" he snarled. 

In away, Agent Grey he was glad about the attack; it's always easier to dislike someone when they're shooting at you, and it seemed to be working on Cyclone. 

Neither of them, however, was expecting Fate to suddenly land on the hood of the car. With a yelp of alarm, Cyclone fell out of the car (which had only been going at thirty miles per hour at that moment), and Agents White and Black pulled out their handguns. 

Before they could fire, she began shooting at them. They easily dodged, but dodging bullets _really_ does not do you any good, especially when you're driving a car. She abruptly leaped out of the car and crashed thruough an awning in front of a store ... 

... before a grenade, fired from above, smashed through the windshield.

* * *

"Ace." 

Ace turned. Styx was standing there, pointing a gun at him. "Ah." 

"Nothing personal," said Styx with a shrug. "It's just ... well, we're on opposite sides now, and, y'know ..." 

"You," said Ace, standing up and stepping away from his gun, "are a bastard." 

Styx sighed as he went to kick the grenade launcher off the roof. "Y'know, I really only need to hold you off until -- Waugh!" 

"Hi there!" said a short figure in a rain poncho, grinning widely, grabbing Styx in a headlock from behind. There appeared to be a large scythe strapped to his back. 

"Who the hell are you?" said Ace. 

"I'll be your local friendly deus ex machina for today," said the man cheerfully, "the Rogue program whose purpose _was_ to delete programs at the Source: the one and only Sneaker!" 

"You were nice and dramatic up until that last part," said Styx in a choked voice, and then used a complicated series of martial arts moves to dislodge Sneaker from him. 

"Ack!" said Sneaker, stumbling backwards. And then he raised his hand ... which five seconds ago had been empty. "Got yet gun!" he said, grinning, and tossed it over the edge of the building. And then he simply vanished. 

"That was weird," said Ace. 

"Stupid Rogues," said Styx. "Uh, look -- my Operator's probably on a hair trigger, so ..." He took a deep breath, and then charged. 

Ace was ready for him. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Operator." 

_"Report, Pylon."_

"Okay," said Pylon. "The _Neb_'s crew is handling themselves fine ... Fate just took down two Agents again -- I think it's Roberts and Williams this time, or no, actually Adams, not Roberts ... Zephyr and Norton are fighting with Cyclone and Lovejoy ..." He looked at the other screen. "And Ace is in deep shit." 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Ace was relying mostly on Focus moves, since he certainly had a high degree of skill with martial arts, but Styx had actual _experience_. And Styx was better at Focus moves, too. 

Styx finally managed a jab that sent Ace sprawling to the edge of the rooftop, feeling like someone had hit his solar plexus with a hammer. He winced as he looked up, almost directly into the sun as it was blocked by the other Runner's form ... 

"Traitor," gasped Ace. 

"Sorry," said Styx, and kicked him off the roof. 

Ace _focused_. Damned if a traitor like Styx was going to get the better of him. The windows seemed to float lazily past him ... 

One of them was open. Ace grabbed onto the sill, and with a strength he _knew_ he wouldn't have had were this real life, he pulled himself in, and paused for breath, glancing around. He appeared to be in a smallish bathroom. 

He took out his cell phone. "Pylon? Exit, please." 

_"Got ya one. It's about five feet behind you."_

"I'm backed up against the wall, Pylon." 

Somewhere in another room, a phone began ringing. 

"Gotcha," said Ace. He hung up, opened the door, and found sudden death staring him in the face. "GAH!" 

"Nothing personal," said Agent Roberts, his gun pointed straight at Ace's face. "It's just that the meaning of my existence is to end yours." 

Ace considered this, and then kicked the gun out of the Agent's hand. Roberts slammed him against the wall; Ace focused, and managed, kicking at the Agent's chest, to go _through_ the wall. 

The phone was knocked to the floor and Ace picked it up, slamming it against the side of his head.

* * *

Styx sighed with relief when he saw Ace pull himself in. Now it was out of his hands. 

He turned; Jaxter was standing there, his gun raised and ready. He sighed, spreading his hands out to his sides. "He survived," he said. 

Jaxter shook his head. "That isn't the point," he said. 

"No," said Styx. "Guess you're right." He sighed. 

"Sorry," said Jaxter. There was nothing more that needed to be said, nothing that _could_ be said. 

And Styx, with all that had happened, accepted it. This was realy the easiest way out. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Ouch," said Ace as he sat up. 

"You know, there _are_ better ways of getting through to another room than letting an Agent smash you through a wall," said Pylon, "and they should be tried first." 

Ace shrugged. "Actually, I was talking about how hard I hit myself with the phone." 

"Cute," said Pylon. "But fortunately, that bizzare Rogue that attacked Styx was also kind enough to delete the Agent Repellant program; looks like we're safe from their finding an immunity for now." 

Ace nodded, and then said, "What happened to him after that?" 

Pylon's expression hardened, and he looked over to where Jaxter was lying, still plugged in. 

And he wasn't sure, but he thought he saw a tear running down the other man's cheek.

* * *

Cyclone watched as the Sentinels carried Styx's body away, so that he'd be recycled and, as it were, put back into the Matrix. "God DAMMIT!" he snarled, punching one of the walls as hard as he could. He didn't even care about his bruised hands; he was that angry. Styx had been a crew member, if only for a short time. But more than that, he was a friend. Until it was time to be put back into the Matrix, Zion was gonna pay. 

Oh well. Fortunately, whatever that insane Rogue was only deleted the physical code of the gun itself. Agent Grey had taken the actual source code of the "agent repellant" when he'd bodyjumped. So they probably still had that edge, at least. 

It was only a matter of time now. 


	17. Epilogue

The _Marquis_ and its entire crew is made up by me, as well as certain other characters. The rest of it is the property of their respective owners. So here it is. 

**THE   
MATRIX   
ACE**

Epilogue:   
25 Years Later 

Captain Ace looked steadily at the green characters scrolling downwards; he didn't even _see_ the codes anymore. All he saw was a fourteen-year-old sandy-haired boy at his computer, using technically-legal file sharing software to illegally download videos and music. He pondered what to do, and then said, "All right, Ratchet, I'm ready to go in." 

"Right," said the young woman sitting next to him -- Ratchet, the Marquis' new Operator. "Oh, and I just remembered -- a message from the _Neb_," she added. "Captain Zephyr said to tell you 'good luck'." 

Ace grinned. "Glad to hear she's still thinking of me," he said as he moved to lay down on the bed. 

Ratchet grinned back. "The way you two are, I'd be surprised if she stopped." And she plugged him in. 

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

A fourteen-year-old boy named Valentino Kaiser sat down at his computer and turned it on. A login screen appeared, and he typed in: 

**Username: VashTheStampede **

Password: 

He wondered if he'd be contacted again by the one who called himself "MarquisAce", who claimed to know something about his grandfather, who'd disappeared before he was born; it had something, MarquisAce claimed, to do with the Matrix, but he wouldn't be clear on what, exactly, the Matrix was. 

Everyone knew about the Matrix nowadays -- or at least, most people knew that there was something called the Matrix that existed. But beyond that, no one had any idea what it could be. 

His screen suddenly went blank. He blinked, and looked around to see what the source of the problem might be, when suddenly several green words appeared. 

**The Matrix has you, Vash. **

Follow the Desert Sky. 

Vash just stared at the screen for several moments. He looked around for a moment, and then happened to glance out the window ... 

... where he saw a large, eye-catching yellow car with the words DESERT SKY in bright red letters emblazoned on the sky. 

He looked back at his computer, which was back to normal. 

He logged out and turned off the computer, then stood up.

* * *

Ace smiled as he looked at the codes; the Machines had implemented a patch that allowed the traitorous crew of the Argent (which had a different crew, now -- the originals were either dead or back in the Matrix, leading blissfully ignorant lives) to see the green codes of the Matrix while still within it, which had previously only been a skill available to the One; of course, this meant that _all_ runners could see the codes now, if they had the skill. 

He could see, through the green haze of the walls of the apartment, and the much less substantial codes of the car windows, the boy standing up and leaving his computer. He knew that the boy was going to come and follow the car in his bicycle, when he drove off. He knew that the boy was almost at the potential he needed to be free himself from the Matrix; all it would take was the one last push that occurred at all unpluggings. 

And he knew that this boy, Valentino Kaiser who called himself Vash the Stampede (after a popular anime character) in all internet chatrooms and message boards he was on, would one day be the captain who freed the Eighth Incarnation of the One. 

Ace smiled, looking at the Matrix once again the way it was intended for those inside it to see, and drove off, waiting for his grandson to follow. 


End file.
